ALL CLEAR GIVEN IN DOWNTOWN BRENHAM AFTER DISCOVERY OF ACTIVE WWI GRENADE PROMPTS EVACUATIONS

  

Several buildings in downtown Brenham were evacuated this (Wednesday) afternoon after a live grenade was accidentally discovered at a local gun store.

Joe Smith, the owner of JMS Tactical on South Baylor Street, said he recently purchased several boxes of weapons and memorabilia dating back to the Civil War era from an estate sale in the Pasadena area.  He was going through a crate of bayonets when at the bottom he found a live M17 German grenade from 1916.

Smith immediately notified police to get rid of the explosive, which he said had a greater risk due to a broken detonator.

 

While waiting for authorities to handle the grenade, Smith moved it to the back of his shop behind a large steel safe.  The Brenham Police and Fire Departments responded, along with a bomb squad from College Station.  The grenade was safely taken into possession around 2:15 p.m.

Brenham Police Captain Lloyd Powell said while the grenade was live, the odds of it going off were very slim.  Therefore, the buildings next to the gun store and to the back of it, opposite of the courthouse, were evacuated as a precaution.  The courthouse was not evacuated.  He said there was no ill intention with the situation, and that everyone was cooperative.

Smith said inert grenades with no active detonator can sell upwards of $500.  A device like this, however, could go for as high as $10,000, although he said they cannot legally be owned and are not safe to possess.

 

According to Cpt. Powell, in a worst-case scenario, the grenade would have a 10-20 foot blast radius if it went off, and it would have caused structural damage to the neighboring buildings.  However, there was no danger to the public.

Smith thanked all responding agencies for quickly providing support.