Bomb squad removes grenade from house

GLENDALE — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s bomb squad on Monday removed a World War II-era practice grenade uncovered by cleaners in a north Glendale home, officials said.

The grenade’s owner was a World War II veteran who recently died and had stored it in his home in the 2900 block of Oakendale Place, Glendale police officials said.

“That’s common — for veterans to bring items back from war,” Officer Matt Zakarian said.

The person left to take care of the veteran’s estate had hired someone to help him go through what was left behind, which is when he found the grenade and called police, Zakarian said.

The grenade’s blast radius could have reached 35 feet, so police notified next-door neighbors and urged them to stay inside, he said.

The sheriff’s Arson and Explosives Detail examined the grenade and determined it was used for practice, Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

The squad took the grenade to a Los Angeles County facility to be destroyed.

The last time a Glendale resident found a grenade, he decided to drop it off at the Glendale Police Department headquarters on Isabel Street, prompting officials to shut down the block as the county’s bomb squad removed the Korean War-era bomb simulator.

The man had found the bomb simulator in his garage and took it to the Police Department because he told officials he didn’t know what to do with it. After the 2009 incident, authorities appealed to the public to call 911 instead of trying to move unidentified, potentially explosive objects.