Pineapple-Style Grenade Found in Bradenton Man’s Home

BRADENTON, FL — A woman’s discovery of a “pineapple” style hand grenade inside an 82-year-old man’s oven led to a Thursday evacuation, bomb squad response and HAZMAT call out in Bradenton.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Don Ealand, 82, left his home in the 4900 block of 14th Street West to go live with his son in Texas. The son, David Ealand, 56, picked up his father and asked a neighbor if she would clean out his father’s trailer and pack up his belongings. The woman, the sheriff’s office said, agreed to help.

The potentially explosive problem began to reveal itself while the woman was cleaning out Don Ealand’s kitchen on Thursday, Dec. 8. When she opened the oven, she found a duct-taped package inside. The grenade was visible on one side of the package, but the duct tape obscured the other side, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media. The woman also realized a stove burner had been left on, but was not ignited.

“It was leaking gas which was noticeable throughout the trailer,” the email said.

The woman notified deputies, who evacuated Ealand’s trailer and those nearby.

An investigation of the package ultimately found that it also contained Nitrocellulose, a flammable substance. The trailer was swept for additional explosives, but none were found, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities in Texas were contacted and spoke with Don and David Ealand, the sheriff’s office noted. The investigation into the incident remains active in both Bradenton and Texas, the sheriff’s office said.

It is unclear how Don Ealand came into possession of the grenade and Nitrocellulose.

No charges have been announced.

Image via Shutterstock