Scott AFB called when live grenade found in metro-east mobile home
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1).jpg "A hand grenade was found in East Carondelet Monday night and detonated by a crew from Scott Air Force Base.")
A hand grenade was found in the closet of a mobile home Monday night in East Carondelet and a crew from Scott Air Force Base successfully detonated it in a rural area.
No injuries were reported.
Herb Simmons responded to the scene with dual responsibilities as the director of the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency and mayor of East Carondelet.
Simmons said the grenade was rusty and it was found by a resident who apparently was moving into the mobile home off 13th and State streets.
“They called 911 when they knew it was kind of suspicious,” Simmons said. “You never know nowadays if they’re replica ones or what.
“It was all rusted and had probably been there for a long, long time, wherever it came from. It still had the firing pin in it.”
Police officers and firefighters arrived and decided to call Scott Air Force Base.
Simmons, who did not have an estimate how long ago the grenade was manufactured, said it was detonated in an area between the Mississippi River and a levee that protects East Carondelet.
An announcement was posted on the Emergency Management Agency’s Facebook page Monday night warning East Carondelet residents that they could hear “a loud explosion” Monday night but that it was a “controlled operation.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 10:41 AM.
