After searching through their grandfather’s possessions in Indiana, a father was murdered and his two children were wounded when the hand grenade they discovered went off when someone loosened the pin, according to the police.
Whoever squeezed the trigger at the family home in Lakes of the Four Seasons, a gated community with approximately 7,300 inhabitants located about 140 miles northwest of Indianapolis, was not identified by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
The father’s 14-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter were hurt by flying shrapnel in the explosion that happened on Saturday at about 6:30 p.m., according to a statement released by the sheriff’s department. As on Sunday night, neither their identities nor the severity of their injuries were known.
According to the sheriff’s office, the father was discovered deceased at the site.
Bomb disposal experts were sent to the residence “to secure the area and determine whether there may be additional explosive devices,” as stated by the police.
On Sunday evening, the sheriff’s office did not immediately reply to an email with inquiries. Its murder squad was looking into the blast.
Expert in explosive ordnance disposal and former commander of the 67th Ordnance Detachment at Fort McNair, Lt. Col. Robert Leiendecker, said that incidents involving such grenade explosions are highly unusual.
The colonel said that families would often find a grenade or rounds of ammo when cleaning up the attics or closets of World War II soldiers around 15 years ago. Colonel Leiendecker said that, in the most majority of these cases, the grenades were non-lethal and lawfully owned.
On Saturday in Indiana, when the pin was withdrawn, the firing pin most likely made a loud pop when it struck the priming, as speculated by Colonel Leiendecker. There was probably a pause of three to five seconds after that. Black powder would burn down the column until it reached the blasting cap before the grenade went off.
