On Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 3:38 pm, a Sierra Madre resident brought a WWII (pineapple type) grenade in a box into the police station for destruction. Not knowing the status of the old device police personnel immediately moved the box with the grenade to a secure place between the Police Department and City Hall. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s (LASD) Bomb Squad was notified and responded to the City.
For a short time Sierra Madre Blvd. was closed off between Lima St. and Hermosa Ave. to both vehicle traffic and pedestrian traffic. The residents at a nearby senior living facility were moved to the rear of their facility. Police personnel were evacuated from the Police Facility for safety purposes. Emergency 9-1-1 calls were routed to the Monrovia Police Department.
At 4:43 pm, the LASD bomb squad arrived. After inspecting the grenade they found it was a real WWII US ordnance type grenade, however it was no longer live as the fuse had been previously removed.
Director of Public Safety, Chief Larry Giannone, stated “the incident was handled quickly and efficiently because of the cooperation of our neighboring police agencies. Because of this there was little disruption to the community.” Chief Giannone also would like to remind members of the community that when you come across devices, such as an old grenade, to please leave it where it is located and call 9-1-1. Although many of these devices are not functional, if they were they can become unstable and hazardous to those around them.