Grenade found in rural Caldwell County

Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law announced last week that the Caldwell County Sheriff”s Office responded to a report of a hand grenade found at a residence located in the 7200 block of Hwy 183, south of Lockhart, on Wednesday, May 30th.
The house had been recently purchased by the new owner, who was cleaning up the garage and found the grenade on a shelf. The gre

nade was still in the original packing box. The home owner called the Sheriff”s Office to report the explosive.
Detectives assigned to the Chisholm Trail Special Crimes Unit and patrol units secured the area and notified the Austin Police Department Bomb Squad to assist in the disposal of the grenade. It was identified to be a Mark IIA1 fragmentation grenade.
Bomb squad members used x-ray equipment to determine the status of the grenade and determined that the plunger on the firing mechanism was down and the fuse was burned. Although it was not functional, it was disassembled and safely disposed of by the bomb squad.
“If you find any kind of grenade, artillery shell, or bomb on or near your property, please leave it alone and contact us,” Law said. “It is not uncommon for a veteran to bring home a war souvenir and forget about it. Some of these items become unstable over time and could become lethal.”
The Chisholm Trail Special Crimes Unit asks that anyone finding any type of explosive, bomb, grenade, dynamite, or large amounts of old ammunition around their property to please contact the Caldwell County Sheriff”s Office at 512-398-6777 to provide trained personnel for safe disposal.
(Courtesy of Paul Cowan)