UPDATE April 11:
A potentially explosive situation was avoided Wednesday after a civilian brought two hand grenades into the local police station.
An elderly man found the items while cleaning out a garage and brought them to the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP to see if they were safe on April 10 around 10 a.m.
In consultation with the RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit, the items were transferred to and secured in a police vehicle.
A safety corridor was established to ensure the safety of those in the vicinity and access to and from the building and lot were restricted.
The explosives unit arrived around 6:30 p.m. and safely removed and dealt with the items, believed to be some type of Second World War era grenades.
“We want to take this opportunity to remind the public that if you come across or find anything that may potentially be explosive or dangerous to please leave it alone and not handle or transport it,” said Const. Chris Terleski, media relations officer. “The best course of action is to call police so we can attend and deal with it in place.”
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ORIGINAL April 10:
A potential hand grenade brought into Vernon’s police detachment forced officers to cordon off the area.
“We had an elderly gentleman who brought a couple items to the front counter and wanted to know if they were safe,” said Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Sgt. Mike Caruth. “One of them was a hand grenade.”
The suspected grenade was placed in a RCMP cruiser and yellow police tape has circled the detachment while experts have been called in to examine the device.
“In an abundance of caution, we locked it in a police car for now and our explosive demolition is coming to take a look at it.”
Sgt. Mike Caruth is reminding residents, “Please do not bring firearms or explosives to the front desk. Let us come to you.”
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