The Lathrop Senior Center and the surrounding area was evacuated on Thursday after somebody found what turned out to be a bomb on a picnic table.

According to Lathrop Police Services, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office received a call at around 11 a.m. after somebody found a suspicious device outside of the senior center – a glass bottle that appeared to be full of something with wires protruding from it.

Lathrop Police initially responded and made the decision to evacuate the area and contacted the explosive ordinance disposal team who carried out an extensive sweep of the area to see if any additional devices could be located.

None were found around the city’s 5th Street complex that includes the Lathrop Senior Center, the Lathrop Community Center, and Valverde Park.

The device was identified by experts as a crude “cricket bomb” and was safely transported away from the facility where it was detonated so that it no longer posed a threat to the general public.

Despite being crude and relatively small – the device appears to be about the same size as a 1-oz. liquor bottle – the Sheriff’s Office warns that they are potentially lethal and can cause a large amount of damage if detonated.

“Although easy to make, easy to conceal, and easy to set off, cricket bombs are destructive devices,” the office said in a statement announcing the discovery. “Despite not being a large explosive, anyone handling one of these devices could certainly be extremely injured by it.

“We recommend that if you ever come across a device such as this one that you contact our office immediately and leave it up to the professionals to handle it.”

While nobody was injured as a result of the discovery, a number of instances of explosives being used in public places have cropped up over the last several months.

Multiple ATM machines were hit by thieves that used explosive gasses and an ignition source in an attempt to blow the machine open and get away with the money contained within. While there was no indication that the thieves used a “cricket bomb” like the one discovered on Thursday, those ATM incidents occurred around busy shopping centers and near or attached to buildings.

Law enforcement officials are investigating how the “cricket bomb” ended up on the picnic table, and no further information was released after the initial announcement.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.