Gag 'Bomb' Prompts Brief Evacuations In Hillcrest

SAN DIEGO, CA – The discovery of what appeared to be a bomb in a Hillcrest alley prompted evacuations of nearby apartments Monday and left the area cordoned off until authorities determined that the object was a harmless novelty item.

A trash truck driver made an emergency call shortly before 10 a.m. to report finding the object – made to resemble taped-together dynamite sticks with an alarm clock attached to them – in an access road off the 4000 block of Albatross Street, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Officers cleared people out of residences in the immediate area and called in a city bomb squad, which soon determined that the object was only a gag item, SDFRD spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.

Authorities gave an all-clear at 10:50 a.m., according to police.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock