Mortar round found under front porch in Watertown

WATERTOWN, Mass. -- A mortar round was found under a porch in Watertown.

Chris Pearson and his girlfriend were cleaning under their Keith Street front porch when they made the disturbing discovery.

"It was about this long and about that big around. It had a tip, with a plastic tip on it," Pearson said.

Pearson picked it up and moved it away from their house.

"I guess I should have been more cautious or more fearful about it but it looked so old, it was so rusty," Pearson said.

When Watertown Police, Watertown Fire Department, and State Police bomb squad responded, Pearson said he did some rethinking of his actions.

"They were treating it as if it were a live ammunition round, and he said something about the tip, the cap or something could have had a charge it in, that if hit hard enough it could have exploded," Pearson said.

Local residents were evacuated.

The device was deemed safe and the scene was cleared, but residents were left wondering what lies beneath.  

"I was afraid because my house is an old house, maybe we had something there," said Alice Ashjian, a neighbor.

"The realtors did not say that it came with an artillery shell, that's for sure" Pearson said.

Pearson said he and his girlfriend plan to go ahead with their renovation of the porch, but may invest in a metal detector before contractors come in to do work.

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