A police captain told us a resident had died some time ago in a house behind the Western Sunset Market on 46th Avenue. Relatives had been going in and out of the house cleaning it out. They noticed something suspicious that looked like a fire extinguisher. They had second thoughts about it and called police around 6 p.m.
Police detonated the device, causing a loud explosion, inside the house around 8:45 p.m. The police captain told us they evacuated homes around the residence they were investigating the device at. No one was hurt in the explosion. Police are still trying to determine what the device was.
Western Sunset Market had significant damage inside. Glass was broken, windows were shattered and a lot of plaster on the back wall fell.
The fire department responded to assist with flare-ups, police said. Firefighters controlled a one-alarm fire reported at 8:46 p.m. near 46th Avenue and Judah Street, according to the fire department. It was under control at 8:57 p.m.
Streets in the area have been closed and the N-Judah Muni route has been redirected because of the police activity, transit officials said.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
