Suspicious Device Removed From School Baseball Field
Sheriff’s Department bomb squad technicians were called to De Anza Middle School on Wednesday after a bomb was reported found on a baseball field, authorities said.
The drab olive device was found just before 5 p.m. near a metal trash can within a few feet of the playing field at 2060 Cameron St. in Ventura.
Witnesses said children had been throwing the 2-foot metal object around earlier in the afternoon.
“It looks like an old air-drop-type explosive,” said Ventura Police Officer Glenn Utter.
Officers moved the ballplayers to a grassy area away from the field, and closed off the south side of the school grounds.
“We believe it is a replica,” Utter said. “But we’d rather be safe than sorry.”
The bomb squad took the device away for examination, authorities said. No word was available Wednesday night whether the device was explosive.
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