MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police were called to a home in Miami Shores after someone discovered an old military device in the backyard.
The device was found in the backyard of a home in the area of 97th Street between Third and Fourth avenues, Monday.
According to Miami Shores Police, the device retrieved by the Miami-Dade Bomb Squad is a possible military explosive device.
“I saw a bunch of cops outside, and it was pretty stressful because I’m only 12,” said Isabella Alderman, who lives in the house where the device was found.
Isabella and her sister Audrey were doing their online learning at home when unexpected visitors dropped by to remove the foreign old object from the outdoor portion of their home.
“I heard my dog barking, so I looked out of the window, and there were a bunch of cops,” Audrey said.
The Alderman family said they’re putting in a pool behind their house, and they had just started the digging process when they ran into a backyard surprise.
Suspecting that it was an explosive, they called police, who then called the Miami-Dade Bomb Squad, who called the military, prompting residents to leave the area.
“Everybody left. My neighbor left, this whole block from here to there,” neighbor Carmeli Nobili said.
Residents were told by police to evacuate the area as a precaution so that the Air Force and Bomb Squad could do their rusty weapon-looking removal work.
“He said, ‘It’s probably nothing, but we need to check that, and we need the whole block evacuated,'” Nobili said.
7News was on the scene as Miami Shores Police blocked off 97th Street for those in a black vehicle and Miami-Dade Bomb Squad members to pick up the mystery object.
A neighbor’s surveillance footage showed authorities in the street just after the call was made.
Officers described the object as a military explosive device, and military officials indicated that it is a very old, possible Civil War-era device.
Once it was removed, everyone was able to come back home, and police said there was no threat to the community.
“And then I had hot chocolate and cookies,” Audrey said.
The family said they haven’t started the bulk of the digging for their pool yet, and they’re wondering what else they’ll find as the excavation continues.
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