Explosive device evacuates homes in La Junta neighborhood

Residents evacuated from a neighborhood in La Junta were finally allowed to return home after waiting nearly six hours on Thursday.

Officers were executing a search warrant on a house in the area of 5th and 6th Streets at around 2 p.m. when they discovered the device. The Pueblo Metro Bomb Unit was first on the scene but had to call in the U.S. Air Force bomb team for assistance.

Twenty-three homes in a three-block radius were evacuated. Residents were finally able to return to their homes just before 10 p.m.

The USAF bomb team destroyed the device. Authorities could not give additional details surrounding the explosive.

Other agencies who were on the scene include the La Junta Police Department, La Junta Fire Department, 16th Judicial DA, FBI, DEA, CBI, and the ATF.