Traffic was interrupted around the triangular intersection of Centinela Avenue, La Cienega and La Tijera boulevards late Tuesday morning because the area was cordoned off in response to a bomb threat in the Ladera Shopping Center at 5315 W. Centinela Ave.
A call was received at an AT&T retail store in the mall, and at 11:50 a.m. the complex was evacuated of employees and customers, while shop owners assisted law enforcement in conducting a search for explosives, said Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Wheeler of the Marina del Rey Station.
The Marina Station, which operates a substation a few doors away from the retail store within the mall, dispatched a cadre of deputies to barricade the streets while the center was cleared. No bomb or explosive device was found.
The outdoor mall is located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County just south of Ladera Heights and boasts numerous retail stores, including a Starbucks coffee shop and a T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant owned by basketball hall of famer and Lakers’ legend Erving “Magic” Johnson, both of which are popular with local residents.
