Five live WWII-era grenades found in estate sale boxes in Texas

Five live grenades from World War II were recovered from boxes bought at an estate sale in Austin, Texas. Police said that although the grenades were around 80 years old, they were still capable of exploding.

A resident of Austin bought several boxes at the estate sale and found objects that appeared to be WWII-era grenades while going through them. The Austin Police Association (APA) announced the unusual discovery earlier in October.

In an Instagram post, the association said the resident had purchased several boxes at the estate sale and discovered what appeared to be WWII-era grenades while sorting through them.

The Austin Police Department (APD) Bomb Squad confirmed the grenades were live and active. The APA post said APD's Bomb Squad confirmed they were live and active.

APD officers secured the scene and established a perimeter to protect nearby residents while awaiting explosives specialists.

Sgt. Issa Kafena, supervisor of the APD Bomb Squad, said the bomb squad recovered five grenades. He told Fox News Digital that officers could not determine exactly when the grenades were manufactured, but they appeared to be about 80 years old.

The buyer seemed to recognise the potential danger and contacted authorities. Kafena said he believed the person was former FBI, so he immediately took precautions to make sure everything was safe, called 911, and patrol responded and then immediately called them.

Once the grenades were recovered, bomb squad officers safely disposed of and destroyed them. Kafena warned that all ordnance carries an inherent danger, especially military ordnance. He said the grenades could have injured someone had they functioned as designed.

Kafena said discoveries of old military explosives are not entirely unheard of by authorities. He said it is more common than people think. The Austin bomb squad handles over 400 deployments annually, including approximately 150 to 175 call-outs, many of which involve discovered military ordnance or equipment.

He said the squad covers 8,400 square miles in the 10-county capital area and goes all over the central Texas area for calls like this fairly frequently.

The Austin discovery is not the only recent case. Last fall, a father and son unexpectedly discovered more than 150 World War II-era artillery shells while metal detecting in a Czech forest, prompting a two-day bomb squad operation. This fall, TSA officers discovered a spent smoke grenade concealed inside an aerosol container in a passenger's carry-on bag during a routine security screening at an airport in upstate New York.

Kafena urged anyone who discovers old military explosives to leave them undisturbed and contact authorities immediately. He said if you ever find it, do not touch it, call 911 immediately and have the bomb squad come out and help address the situation.