Blast at Santa Ana Hardware Store Caused by Battery Device: Update

See the update at the end of this post with police giving the all clear and revealing the blast was caused by a battery device.

ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 4, 10:16 A.M.: An explosion rocked a Santa Ana hardware store this morning, when police say they found the remnants of what appears to be a pipe bomb.

No one was hurt in the 9 a.m. blast at Orchard Supply Hardware, 1975 E. 17th St., according to Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, the Santa Ana police spokesman.

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Police evacuated the area around the shopping center, and a bomb squad was summoned, Bertagna reportedly told City News Service.

Investigators will likely focus on the area near the store's exit, which is where witnesses believe the blast came from, Bertagna noted.

Perhaps someone was displeased with a new grill purchased for Labor Day.

UPDATE, SEPT. 4, 12:43 P.M.: Investigators have determined the hardware store explosion was caused by a battery device, according to police.

“Now why it was there by the front door and what made it explode, we don't know,” police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna reportedly told City News Service.

An evacuation order was listed around 11:30 a.m., according to Bertagna, who added the store was already scheduled to eventually be closed.

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