Hand grenade recovered after about 3 blocks of Compton homes evacuated, Los Angeles County sheriff’s department says

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) — A hand grenade was removed from a Compton residence after about three blocks of homes were evacuated out of precaution on Saturday afternoon.

An Eyewitness News viewer alerted ABC7 to the law enforcement activity, which they say began around 3 p.m.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a citizen called and reported finding a hand grenade in a home in the Nickerson Gardens housing development in the 1400 block of Zamora Avenue.

“Somebody found it, and they called us,” Lt. B. Payes told City News Service.

The lieutenant said she did not know how the military ordnance came to be inside the home, but the sheriff’s Arson and Explosives detectives were on the scene, working to make sure the area was safe.

Compton Station Sgt. D. Watson told City News Service just after 7 p.m. that the detectives collected the grenade and took it away. Neighbors were allowed to return home after about four hours.

Deputies described the grenade to Eyewitness News as a WWII-style device that was determined to be inert.

Watson says it is not uncommon for people to find old hand grenades, both real and fake, which need to be taken seriously and removed from the home.

READ MORE: Possible explosive device found in Compton home prompts evacuations in neighborhood

A neighborhood a few miles away was evacuated on Thursday after another call about a possible explosive device found inside a home.

Someone claimed to have found a possible explosive device in the attic of the home in the 800 block of North Chester Avenue, triggering an evacuation order for homes within a two-block radius.

Fortunately, the military ordnance was found to be non-explosive, and evacuations were lifted.

The sheriff’s department said members from the Camp Pendleton Explosive Detail came and picked up the ordnance.

City News Service contributed to this report.