Bomb Squad Detonates WWII-Era Hand Grenade Found in Jackson

The Allegheny County Police Bomb Squad was called to Jackson Township Sunday to detonate a Mk 2 hand grenade that a man found while chopping wood in the area.

Jackson Police Chief Terry Seilhamer said the 52-year-old, who he declined to name, was cutting firewood near the Verizon Wireless cell phone tower behind the Evans City Cemetery on Franklin Road at about 7 p.m. when he came across the Mk 2, which is commonly known as a “pineapple” hand grenade.

Seilhamer said the grenade was identifiable as the World War II-era weapon by its rough texture, including raised squares on the body, and its oval shape.  

“It was quite weathered,” he said.

(To check out the grenade as it appeared hidden in leaves that had fallen to the ground, click on the photo to the right)

After arriving at the scene, the bomb squad determined the grenade was “live,” Seilhamer said.

Once bomb squad members cleared the area, they safely detonated it.

“With a grenade that old, it was potentially unstable,” Seilhamer said.

The chief did know how the grenade wound up in the wooded area.

“It wasn’t uncommon in that era to bring home those types of items as war souvenirs,” he said. “My guess is that’s where it came from.”

The area was cleared shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday, he said.