A good thing to do if you ever happen to find a grenade is to immediately call the authorities, as one man has evidently just learned.
A Taco Bell in Ocala, Florida was evacuated on Saturday after a fisherman reportedly stumbled upon a hand grenade while magnet fishing and then drove it to a local Taco Bell, the Ocala Police Department said Saturday. The man was not identified by police, but he had reportedly been magnet fishing in neighbouring Ocklawaha when he discovered the grenade. Police said that after having arrived at the fast food restaurant, he dialed 911.
It’s not clear why he chose to transport it to the Taco Bell before alerting the authorities, but no one was hurt in the incident. The department said that a bomb squad with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was present “to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Taco Bell on E. Silver Springs Blvd. has been evacuated. A man found a hand grenade while magnet fishing in Ocklawaha, put it in his trunk, and drove to Taco Bell prior to calling 911. MCSO bomb squad is currently on scene to ensure everyone’s safety. pic.twitter.com/sgGmXDkAXB
— Ocala Police Dept (@ocalapd) January 26, 2019
“The bomb squad removed the grenade without incident and advised it would be disposed of properly,” the Ocala Police Department said in a statement.
The man reportedly alerted the authorities at around 5 p.m. local time, according to police, at which time the Taco Bell was evacuated. The Ocala Police Department tweeted around 6:45 p.m. that the restaurant had reopened for service.
Interestingly, the cops identified the grenade as “an authentic WWII hand grenade,” though it’s not clear what kind. An image appears to show it could be a U.S. Mk 2 grenade. We reached out to the department for more information and will update this post if we hear back.
Magnet fishing turning up relic weaponry is actually not as uncommon as you might think. The BBC reported last year that bomb squads in the U.K. are “regularly” called to magnet fishing sites where people have turned up even live ammunition. One teen who spoke with the BBC about the hobby told the outlet he’d hauled in guns and even a live grenade while magnet fishing. As the BBC noted and as you have probably surmised, it is for this exact reason that the hobby can be dangerous.
Anyway, if you happen to pull a potentially explosive weapon on your next fishing excursion, definitely just call the police.