Grenade In Wilmington House: Police Reveal How It Happened

WILMINGTON, IL — The Wilmington Police Department has issued a Facebook announcement explaining the events surrounding Wednesday afternoon's discovery of an old grenade inside a house in the 900 block of Buchanan Street.

At 2:20 p.m., officers learned of a suspicious item, a grenade, inside the homeowner's garage while the garage was being cleaned out. "It was determined there was probable cause to believe the item could still be operational and the Cook County Bomb Squad was contacted to dispose of the item for safety and security purposes," Wilmington police revealed.

People around Wilmington were warned to remain inside their homes, and everyone else was told to avoid the area.

"Once fully viewed, it was fully determined to have been an inert grenade," the police noted, revealing that Cook County removed and disposed of the grenade. "It is believed that this item belonged to a family member who served in the military and that it has been unknowingly located in the garage for some time. There are no charges pending as a result of this incident."

While the Wilmington grenade incident was resolved safely, a similar event ended in tragedy in nearby Indiana two years ago. In that incident, a family was going through a grandfather's belongings when they happened across a grenade and someone pulled the pin, causing it to detonate, police said at the time. A 47-year-old father was killed, while his children, ages 15 and 18, suffered shrapnel injuries.