WWII Era Practice Grenade Found Repacked With Explosives

Winder, Georgia An old WWII era hand grenade was found near the home of Eva Elder, the Barrow County Commissioner. The grenade was found in a ditch by relatives of the Commissioner near the end of the driveway. The Commissioner's family called the police to report the find. The police responded with technical support from the University of Georgia Police Bomb Squad. The bomb squad identified the munition as a WWII era practice grenade that had been re-packed with explosives. The police did not indicate the type of explosive filler used. An investigation is underway to determine how the munition ended up in the residential neighborhood. The sheriff's office reported that at this time there is nothing to indicate that the grenade was placed to threaten or harm the Commissioner.

Unexploded Grenade Donated to Church Yard Sale

Bishop Auckland, United Kingdom Volunteers sorting through items donated to a church yard sale came across a hand grenade in a box with pots, pans, and other kitchen household goods in it. The 84-year old woman who found the grenade knew the potential hazards associated with the UXO from her time spent in a munitions factory during WWII. She immediately cleared the other volunteers out of the room then called the police.

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Estate Sale Turns Up UXO

River Falls, Wisconsin Customers going through items at an estate sale came across some old ammunition cans. As the customers were handling and opening the cans, they noticed that one of them appeared to contain ordnance. The customers notified the estate sale management team who in turn called the River Falls Police Department. The police responded with technical support from the Marathon County Bomb Squad. Nearby residents were evacuated and streets were closed as bomb technicians investigated the ordnance.

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Man Finds Artillery Projectile During Garage Clean Out

Colorado Springs, Colorado A man clearing out an old garage came across a large artillery projectile among the collection of material in storage. The alarmed man called the police who responded with bomb technicians from the Colorado Springs Police Department. The bomb technicians called Fort Carson EOD for support after verifying that the round was a military munition. EOD responded and identified the round as a "live" 152mm projectile. Reportedly, the round was purchased at an Army surplus store nearly 35 years ago from a previous tenet. The round identified as "live", had not been fired. The exact type of 152mm projectile was not reported. EOD safely removed the round from the garage and properly disposed of it.

Homeowner Finds Blasting Cap In Garden

Norristown, Pennsylvania a homeowner digging in his garden uncovered a small cylindrical object about 2 inches long with markings indicating that it contained explosives. The man called the Montgomery County Sherriff's office who responded with a Bomb Disposal unit. The responding bomb technicians identified the item as an unexpended commercial blasting cap. Authorities suspect that the blasting cap may have been left over from when the houses were constructed in the area. Concerned over the potential for other blasting caps, the Bomb Disposal Technicians conducted a survey of the area but did not find any additional blasting caps or any other hazardous material. The blasting cap was safely disposed of by the Bomb Disposal unit without incident.

Explosives Found in Shed

Thibodaux, Louisiana The son of a late bomb disposal technician who died last September was clearing out his father's shed when he came across a box with explosives and blasting caps inside. The son called the police who responded with technical support provided by a State Bomb Disposal Team. Authorities searched the shed and retrieved three ammunition cans containing more than 100 blasting caps, a five-pound block of C-4, and a liquid chemical used as to accelerate fires.

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Explosives Find or False Alarm

Cushing, Oklahoma Workers renovating an old National Guard armory building came across several boxes marked "TNT" during lead paint and asbestos removal operations. The workers reported to find to police who responded with support provided by an Oklahoma State Bomb Squad. Testing conducted by the bomb squad confirmed that the substance believed at first to be TNT was actually flour and baking powder. Reportedly, the flour and baking powder were used to simulate explosives during previous National Guard training events. It is unknown exactly how long the boxes labeled TNT have been in storage or why they were left in the building. The building is owned by the State but will be transferred to the City after the lead paint and asbestos removal is complete.

Bomb Disposal Team Responds to IED Scare on the Water

San Diego, California a U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (MSST) found a suspicious object floating eight miles off-shore. The drifting box had wires protruding from it with an abandoned fish net wrapped around it. Concerned that that the item was an IED, the MSST established a security perimeter around the object while a Bomb Disposal Team from San Diego was called in for technical support.

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Bomb Disposal Technician Killed During IED Incident

Woodburn, Oregon State police received a bomb threat call for a Wells Fargo Bank. Authorities responded and conducted a search of the bank but found no IEDs. The search was then expanded to nearby banks where an IED was found outside of the West Coast Bank. The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad provided technical support during the IED response. For some unknown reason, the bomb squad decided to move the IED found just outside to inside of the bank. Sometime during the process of relocating the bomb it exploded killing a local police officer and a state bomb disposal technician and critically injuring the Woodburn chief of police.

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Boy Brings Grenade to Show & Tell

LaPlata, Maryland An 11-year student found an old grenade in the woods behind his house. The stunt brought the grenade to school for "show and tell". Not sure if the grenade was live or not, the teacher evacuated the students from the classroom. School staff then moved the grenade to a grassy median outside the school before calling police.

The police responded with technical support provided by the state fire marshal's bomb squad. The bomb squad identified that the grenade was inert. Students were then allowed to return to class. The school drafted a letter for student to take home to their parents that asked them to spark to their kids about safety.

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