Man Showing Off Grenade in French Eatery Loses Hand

An old grenade shown off by an arms collector at a restaurant exploded, blowing off his hand and injuring eight bystanders.

Aldo Toscano, 30, a former soldier and arms aficionado, was undergoing reconstructive surgery Sunday. The others hurt were under hospital observation with lighter injuries.

The accident Saturday occurred at a restaurant called Station Burger, where prizes were being awarded for a show of classic American cars and motorcycles.

Toscano, participating with a military jeep bristling with weapons, theatrically pulled the pin from a grenade and tried to hand it to the restaurant owner.

“Don’t worry, it’s unarmed,” he said.

The owner, noticing smoke coming from the device, hurled himself and six children behind a counter as the grenade exploded, shredding Toscano’s hand and scattering shrapnel around the dining room.

Explosives experts arrived later at the scene in Castres, 360 miles south of Paris, and disarmed more grenades, rocket launchers and other munitions in Toscano’s jeep.