Movie-prop ‘ pipe bomb’ prompts evacuation
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad X-rayed the device. Photo via RBPD
Businesses in a Redondo Beach industrial park were evacuated Wednesday morning, after police were alerted to a possible explosive device found outside of a business — a device that, after closer inspection, turned out to be a prop device, likely those used in film or television productions.
Police were called to Specialty Doors, a business on the 2600 block of Manhattan Beach Boulevard, at 9:23 a.m. According to RBPD Lt. Mario Fizulich, a device that appeared to be a homemade pipe bomb, connected to a clock via wires and strapped to a large, black case, was found in a cardboard box outside of the reporting business.
The device was discovered when staff from a paper shredding company, hired to dispose of documents in cardboard boxes behind the business’s outdoor stairs, found it in one of the boxes.
The building, and surrounding buildings in the industrial park, were evacuated by Redondo Beach police and firefighters “as a precautionary measure,” Fizulich said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad was called to the scene to x-ray the device, which was then discovered to be a movie prop.
According to police, the boxes were said to have been in their location under the outdoor stairs of the business for about five years.
When reached, a representative for the business declined comment.