Woman Turns in Grenade Instead of Books to Mission Viejo Library

A woman caused a scare when, instead of returning books to the Mission Viejo Library, she turned in a grenade Tuesday.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad responded to the scene at the Civic Center shortly after noon.

“Our bomb squad came out and took a look at it, but there was no evacuation,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Mark Stichter. “It was not a live grenade.”

The woman had found a small amount of ammunition and the inert grenade at a family member’s home.

Such incidents are not at all rare.

“Those types of calls happen, believe it or not, almost on a daily basis,” said Stichter.

In fact, an inert grenade found at a Los Angeles woman’s backyard prompted a neighborhood evacuation at the same time Tuesday.

In 2012, a man brought a found grenade to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station prompting a closure on the base and surrounding neighborhood.

Anyone who finds ammunition or explosives should not attempt to move it, he said.

“If you find live ammo or any kind of weapon, always call the police department or sheriff’s department,” Stichter said. “The sheriff’s department will always come out and take a look at the device. We will collect it and ensure that it gets destroyed.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons