Lehigh Township Police responded to a report of a possible explosive device on Hawthorn Road at 12:15 p.m. Friday.

Family members were cleaning out a home of a deceased relative and came upon the device in a shed.Lehigh Township Fire, Lehigh Township Fire Police, Northampton Regional EMS responded to close the road and set up a safe area around the device. Northampton County Emergency Management responded to the scene and assisted with providing information on the device to the Bethlehem Bomb Squad.The device was determined to be an old 81 mm Japanese mortar shell. Due to the difficulty ascertaining whether the device was live or inert, the device was moved to a safe location and detonated by the Bethlehem Bomb Squad.The device was found to be inert after detonation.Hawthorne Road was closed for over three hours and one residence in proximity to the device was evacuated for safety.No other devices were found and no one was injured.