At approximately 10:00 AM today, a citizen entered the lobby of the Tehachapi Police Department and informed an officer that he needed to properly dispose of a large military shell he had discovered while cleaning his garage in the 49500 block of Michael Avenue in Tehachapi.  The citizen informed the officer he had placed the shell into his vehicle and transported it to the station. 

Officers discovered what appeared to be an unexploded military shell on the front seat of the citizen’s vehicle which was parked in front of the station.  Officers immediately evacuated residents from the immediate area and requested a response from the Kern County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad. 

Kern County Sheriff Bomb Squad personnel responded to the scene and examined the ordinance.  The Bomb Squad requested a response from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Flight from Edwards Air Force Base due to the nature of the item discovered.  EOD Personnel from Edwards responded to the location and determined it necessary to transport the military shell to an isolated location for detonation.  EOD personnel with assistance of Kern County Bomb Squad personnel, and Tehachapi Police Department personnel, transported the unexploded military shell to a remote location north of Tehachapi where it was safely detonated. 

The Tehachapi Police Department would encourage citizens who discover potentially dangerous items such as this to leave the item in place and immediately notify the Police Department.