Bomb Squad detonates fake grenade found at Goodwill
By Zoe Hunt
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — The bomb squad was called out to the Goodwill near the Salinas airport on Monday morning after employees discovered what appeared to be a hand grenade inside one of the parking lot donation bins.
Since law enforcement did not know if the grenade was active, they immediately evacuated the parking lot and placed the building on a shelter-in-place order.
Since the grenade was in the far corner of the parking lot, away from people, the bomb squad made the decision to detonate it right away. This saved them from taking on added risks, such as X-rays or moving locations.
Once it was detonated, they were able to figure out that it was a fake grenade, essentially a prop.
“After it was rendered safe, they were able to take a look at it and it was determined to be a fake,” said Zach Dunagan with the Salinas Police Department. “There were no safety issues behind it, other than what it looks like.”
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office advised against donating any items that could cause an unknowing person to think they are in danger or mistake it for a dangerous object.
“If there’s something that could potentially cause somebody to panic because they see a particular item, it’s probably best not to put that in there. If you know that it’s a safe item, that other person may not,” said Andres Rosas with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
If there is any uncertainty that an item could be real and dangerous, always call law enforcement first.
“We would much rather it be rendered safe somewhere else than being transported, potentially putting other people’s lives at risk,” said Dunagan.
Salinas police said they do not know who donated the fake grenade.
Goodwill announced that it has opened an investigation.
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