Bomb Squad Responds to Church of Latter Day Saints

Paper ashes were found inside a metallic box that prompted a bomb scare Friday afternoon outside Salinas’ Church of Latter Day Saints.

The box, deemed suspicious, was found by the church pastor outside the front doors to the church, located at 255 E Alvin Drive. Officers were alerted because of suspicious writing on the outside of the box that seemed threatening.

Police say the pastor made his call to authorities at 3:46 p.m.

The pastor had not been to the church since Wednesday, so it’s unclear when the box was placed at the front door.

The Monterey County Bomb Squad was on scene to handle the situation. The response closed a portion of E. Alvin Drive at McKinnon Street for several hours, with roads reopening by 7 p.m.

Central Coast News Anchor Jasmine Viel was on the scene during the investigation, and reported the metallic box to be one-foot by one-foot in size. It had not been removed from the church property, according to officers.

The church itself was closed and evacuated during the investigation. However, police tell us there were no evacuations associated with the apartments surrounding the church property.

A bomb tech x-rayed the box to find the ashes inside.

Stay with Central Coast News for updates on this developing story.