WWII Grenades Found In San Jose Home, Detonated In Front Yard
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The Santa Clara County sheriff's bomb squad disposed of three World War II-era hand grenades found in a home near San Jose Thursday afternoon, a sheriff's spokesman said.
A bomb squad determined the grenades were too unstable to move and detonated them in a makeshift bunker made of sandbags in the front yard of a home on the 15000 block of Chelsea Drive Thursday, said sheriff's Deputy Kurtis Stenderup.
Residents were evacuated from surrounding homes while other residents were asked to shelter in place.
Around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, deputies received a call from a person cleaning out the home of a deceased resident of the 15000 block of Chelsea Drive in the Cambrian Park neighborhood. The person had discovered the grenades in a box, sheriff's Deputy Kurtis Stenderup said.
Deputies told residents in the immediate area to leave their homes, and gas was shut off to the home where the grenades were found as a precaution, Stenderup said.
The evacuations were made based on bomb experts' estimate on the size of a potential "blast radius" if the grenades were to explode, Stenderup said.
A command post was set up nearby that included personnel from the Santa Clara County Fire Department and other emergency responders, Stenderup said.
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