HAVING A BLAST

Boy, 3, Finds Live WWII Grenade and Brings It Inside to Show Parents

A bomb squad was called in after the child’s parents alerted authorities.

A toddler stumbled on a deadly relic of World War II while playing outside his family’s home—and then carried it inside to show his parents. The three-year-old discovered the grenade Monday evening in the front yard of his family’s property in Hartline, a small town halfway between Seattle and Spokane, in central Washington, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said. After the boy handed it over, his parents immediately called authorities around 6:45 p.m. Deputies quickly brought in backup from the Washington State Patrol bomb squad. Technicians confirmed the grenade was still live, even after decades of exposure to the elements. It was safely removed and destroyed in a rural area north of town. “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 wrote in a social media post. Officials added it was unclear how the explosive wound up in the yard or how long it had been there. No injuries were reported, but police reminded residents that unexploded military devices still occasionally surface across the U.S.—and to never touch suspicious objects.