Local lakeside park closed after child finds grenade

[carpro]

Local lakeside park closed after child finds grenade


Local lakeside park closed after child finds grenade


BELTON, Texas (KWTX) The Bell County Sheriff's Department closed McGregor Park on Lake Belton Saturday evening after a grenade was discovered in the water.

T.J. Cruz with the department said a child around 8 or 9-years old stepped on the grenade with a pin still intact in the water then threw it on shore around 7 p.m.



The grenade was live and could have detonated, authorities said.

 

[Salty]

The grenade was live and could have detonated, authorities said.

Not if the pin was in it.

 

[carpro]

Not if the pin was in it.

I think they meant if the pin was pulled, expecially by a child who doesn't know to hold the spoon down.

The kid that found it was smart to take it to his dad. Another child might have pulled the pin , just to see what happened.

No idea where it came from, but Lake Belton is less than 30 miles from Ft. Hood.

 

[HankD]

Russian?

HankD

 

[Reynolds]

Russian?

HankD

Nope, but I am sure it is in some way President Trumps fault.

 

[HankD]

Nope, but I am sure it is in some way President Trumps fault.

Yes. Now there must be an investigation of why he has not make any "Live Grenades in the Lake" laws.

Special counsel must be brought in of course.

HankD

 

[rsr]

No idea where it came from, but Lake Belton is less than 30 miles from Ft. Hood.

That's likely, or perhaps someone from the Fort Hood area who happened to acquire it sometime in his military career.

Such things pop up (so to speak) in military towns. There are lots and lots of grenades at Hood, compared to where I live. Bigger problems here are artillery shells, though such incidents seem to be much less prevalent now than in the past.

Many years ago there was a scare about children picking up practice M16-fired practice mortar rounds, which had the kids would smash on the sidewalk to release the pretty colored powder inside. The problem was that kids didn't necessarily know the difference between practice rounds and live rounds, some of which had brightly colored ogives. I don't recall anyone ever being hurt by a live round, however.

Artillery shells are another matter. A longtime DA employee told me about a kid who stuffed an artillery round into the notch of a tree and smashed it with a hammer to detonate it. The cartridge flew backward and killed him. (I'm assuming it was a ceremonial 75mm round or a 105mm round because those were the only artillery in the inventory at the time that employed a brass cartridge, IIRC.

Many years ago there was a commotion at a local moving warehouse. Apparently the guys found a grenade and started lobbing it around ... until it detonated. They were lucky it was a CS grenade and all they got was some teary eyes.

 

[Salty]

No idea where it came from, but Lake Belton is less than 30 miles from Ft. Hood.

Actually Part of Lake Belton is within the Fort Hood military reservations.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

More than just a hand grenade -- AFAIK, no further munitions have been discovered during the past 20 years, but given that Reid includes some of Maine's largest and most popular sand beaches, the closure of perhaps the best of those beaches garnered lots of publicity.

Part of an article from an organization specializing in reports of old munitions:
"During the winter and early spring of 1997 the unusually severe erosion of Mile Beach at Reid State Park uncovered relics of World War II. During the war Mile Beach was used as a bombing range to train American and Canadian pilots. Consequently between February and late November 1997, approximately 150 pieces of ordnance consisting of 5" warheads, and 3.25" and 2.25" rocket motors were found by the park personnel. Naval Explosive & Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialists traveled from Rhode Island to dispose of the warheads on the beach while the rocket motors were stockpiled and disposed of at the Brunswick Naval Air Station.
Associated Munitions: Rockets (82) were uncovered on 4 acres of beach property ranging between the high water mark and the low water line during a TCRA conducted in 1997 on the beach area. Bombs are expected to be located in the water as well."

 

[Salty]

Thank goodness that weapon did explode, but what about Europe

...more than 2,000 tons of unexploded munitions are uncovered on German soil every year. Before any construction project begins in Germany, from the extension of a home to track-laying by the national railroad authority, the ground must be certified as cleared of unexploded ordnance.

For the full story - click here

 

[Rob_BW]

A few years back a big block of Bragg had to get locked down after one of our guys hit a mortar round with the lawnmower.

It turned out to be an old, inert training round. But it was still a rather exciting event.

 

[Rolfe]

 

[carpro]

Had forgotten about that. But you usually have to pull the pin to make it work.