Bomb squad called to Round Lake Beach Goodwill after inactive grenade was donated

Police are investigating how an inactive grenade wound up in a donation pile Saturday at the Goodwill in Round Lake Beach.

The store briefly was evacuated Saturday afternoon when a Goodwill employee found the object among hundreds of items recently donated to the store, according to a Round Lake Beach news release.

Village police officers determined the object was a hollowed out decommissioned grenade often sold online under the name "training grenade."

Round Lake Beach Deputy Chief Ryan Rodriguez said the officers became concerned after seeing a small plug had been placed over a hollowed-out section of the grenade so they called in the Waukegan Bomb Squad.

Bomb squad members arrived Saturday and took the grenade. On Monday they used an X-ray machine to determine the grenade was not active and there was no danger, the news release said.

Round Lake Beach Police Chief Wayne Wilde said people who wish to discard diffused explosives or firearms should contact police instead of donating them.

Police encouraged anyone with information on how the inactive grenade came to be donated at the Round Lake Beach Goodwill to call (847) 546-2127.