US: Antique grenade found in grandfather’s belongings explodes, kills one, injures two

The local police in the United States reported a bizarre caseafter a man in Indiana was killed and two children wereinjured after they found a hand grenade while going through the belongings of their grandfather. The incident took place over the weekend in Lake of the Four Seasons, a community in the US state of Indiana.

According to a statement by Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez, the police believe that “someone” might have pulled the pin on the device. The 47-year-old man who died was later identified as Bryan Niedert, while the identity of the two teenagers, his 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter, who were injured was not known.

As per media reports, the two teenagers suffered shrapnel wounds and were taken to the hospital. However, their condition was not immediately known. Erik Longnecker of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a statement said that they are supporting the Lake County Sheriff’s office and Porter County Bomb Squad in the investigation.

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A bomb squad was called to their house where the explosion took place to check if any other explosives were at the house. While such incidents are not common in the US, theyare not entirely unheard of. In 2020, a 12-year-old in Virginia died after what is believed to be a WW II-era hand grenade bought at a local flea market exploded.

Such incidents also prompted the FBI to issue a statement which said that some families of war veterans in the US are finding “unexpected, and highly dangerous souvenirs” among their loved one’s belongings which service members either brought home from their combat service or purchased them later.

It added that these devices are known as military ordnance and can remain intact for decades but explode without notice and also warned that they are “highly dangerous, and only a trained bomb technician should handle them.”

The federal agency also noted that there has been an increase in the number of calls they are receiving about such devices as large numbers of elderly veterans are now dying.

Special Agent Patrick Carolan, a bomb technician with the FBI, said, “People are often a little shocked and concerned to realise that they or their loved ones have been living with such a dangerous item in their home, sometimes for decades.”

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