HUNTINGTON BEACH : Homemade Bomb in Street Is Deactivated

A bomb squad on Thursday deactivated a homemade bomb that had been found on a street.

The device consisted of wires and D-cell batteries bound in masking tape with an electrical timer and explosive material in a small jar. It was found between two parked cars in the 8350 block of Amsterdam Drive.

As a precaution, police asked residents in about six homes to evacuate.

A fire engine and two ambulances waited at the scene as a small robot picked up the bomb and partially disassembled it.

“It looked pretty scary. It didn’t look like something you would want to mess with,” added Scott Harnden, 29, one of about 60 residents--some toting binoculars--who filled the street to watch as Chris Weare of the county bomb squad unit gingerly finished disassembling the device about 5:10 p.m.

“I was going to kick it in the drain, but I heard it ticking,” said Jerry Meraz, 38, who said he saw the bomb while crossing the street near his home.

Police said they did not know who constructed the bomb or who put it there.

Priscilla Halvorson, who lives at 8351 Amsterdam Drive, said she saw the explosive device on the street about 5 p.m. Wednesday. She said she thinks that two children who were playing in the storm drain that evening may have tossed the device onto the street.

Bomb squad investigators had not determined what sort of explosive or flammable material was in the jar.