Part of an Encinitas shopping center was evacuated Thursday when what was believed to be a grenade was found just outside a Laundromat.
Gardeners spotted the suspicious object outside LaunderLand Coin-Op Laundry off Encinitas Boulevard and El Camino Real just after 11 a.m. Thursday and called 911, the Encinitas Fire Department (EFD) said.
EFD created a 300-foot space surrounding the device and evacuated the laundromat so that a bomb arson team could investigate the suspicious item.
EFD determined the object was an airsoft grenade, a replica weapon typically used in play.
The all-clear was given by 12:30 p.m. and patrons were allowed to re-enter LaunderLand.
The shopping center also houses a Sprouts Farmers Market a Round Table Pizza and several other shops that were mostly unaffected. The Laundromat is about 3 miles south of The Forum Shopping Center in Carlsbad.
