Construction crew unearths old military shell in Oceanside

OCEANSIDE (KUSI) – A construction crew unearthed an old military shell at a job site near Oceanside Transportation Center Wednesday, prompting a road closure and evacuations in the area pending removal of the potentially explosive ordnance.

The discovery in the 100 block of South Tremont Street was reported about 12:30 p.m., according to the Oceanside Police Department.

Officers shut down traffic lanes, cleared people out of homes along a roughly 300-foot stretch of the roadway and notified nearby Camp Pendleton, which sent in an ordnance-handling team to safely dispose of the aged ammunition, OPD spokesman Tom Bussey said.

The origin of the shell was unclear, according to Bussey, who described it as resembling a “very oversized .45 (caliber) round” of a type that might be fired by a howitzer-type weapon.

It was unclear if the piece of ordnance remained live, he said.