A Potentially Lethal Paperweight

Atascosa County, Texas A Texas man's long-time desk ornament was recently revealed to be a live Civil War-era UXO. For several years, Steve Martin had been using a 20-pound artillery shell as a paperweight and conversation piece after his son recovered it during a fishing trip.

The true nature of the artifact came to light last month when a visiting truck driver with a military background saw the object and warned Martin that it appeared to be a live munition. Recognizing the potential danger, Martin contacted the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office.

EOD personnel from Lackland Air Force Base, supported by local emergency services, responded to the residence to evaluate the item. Upon inspection, the EOD team confirmed the object was a live Parrott round. The munition was originally designed for the Parrott rifle, an 1860 muzzle-loading cannon utilized extensively by Union forces during the Civil War.

Following the assessment, EOD experts transported the 160-year-old UXO to Camp Bullis, a military training site and firing range situated over 50 miles away near San Antonio, where they safely destroyed it via a controlled detonation.

This event serves as a critical warning, demonstrating exactly how not to handle suspected ordnance.