A three-year-old discovered a live hand grenade, the type used during World War II, in his family’s front yard in Washington, authorities say.
On Monday evening, the child found the grenade in his family’s front yard in Hartline, a tiny town located in the middle of the state with 180 residents.
The child brought it inside the house to show his parents, who then called 911 at around 6.45 p.m., the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Washington State Patrol bomb squad assisted, determining the grenade was live. The squad then took the device to a rural area north of Hartline, where they “safely disposed” of the weapon, authorities said.
Authorities noted that the weapon appeared weathered and was consistent with grenades used during World War II.
Three-year-old finds a live World War II-era hand grenade in his family’s front yard in Hartline, Washington (Grant County Sheriff’s Office)
“The grenade was of a type used during the Second World War and had clearly been exposed to the elements for some time,” the sheriff’s office said.
It’s not immediately clear how the grenade ended up in the family’s front yard or for how long it had been there.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
This grenade appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) and was not of military grade, Washington State Patrol bomb squad told KREM2.
These grenades “really have no quality controls,” Commander Cliff Pratt told the outlet. “These novelty grenades are just made somewhere without any type of manufacturer lock codes or anything like that.”
This kind of discovery isn’t too uncommon for the area, given the former military bases in Grant County, Kyle Foreman, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told the outlet.
