Bomb squad investigates WWII-era device at Hollywood storage unit

The Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad responded Monday afternoon to a report of a suspicious WWII-era device found at a Hollywood self-storage center.

The device was discovered in a storage unit in the 6600 block of Lexington Avenue around noon, according to LAPD Officer Wendy Reyes.

"It apparently looks like a bomb, but they don't know if it is active," Reyes said. "They just want to make sure it's not explosive."

[Updated at 2:16 p.m.: The device turned out to be a rusted 30-inch-by-10-inch movie prop and was found to be inert, police officials said.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith said someone had opened the storage locker at the facility and found the device, which was to be auctioned off because the owner could not pay rent on the locker.]

Over the last three months, Hollywood averaged 12.7 violent crimes and 62.5 property crimes per week, according to The Times' crime database.

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Image: Map shows approximate location of where the bomb squad responded to a report of a suspicious WWII-era device found at a Hollywood self-storage center. Source: Google Maps