By ERIN CLARK
Martinez Tribune
MARTINEZ, Calif. – Several agencies were called to Waterfront Park Thursday afternoon after a Vietnam-era hand grenade was found on the shoreline.
Visitors to the park discovered the grenade at approximately 4:30 p.m. on a small beach near the remains of the Forester schooner, “and very wisely called the police,” said Carolyn Jones, Public Information Supervisor for the East Bay Regional Park District.
“We (the park district) responded, along with Martinez Police and the Walnut Creek Police Department Bomb Squad. It turned out to be a live M67 grenade, so we had to clear the area,” Jones said.
The fragmentation hand grenade, the model of which has a typical casualty radius of 49 feet, was covered by the bomb squad and safely detonated.
Jones said that while the park wasn’t closed for “very long,” responders were at the scene till around 10 p.m. that evening.
“While this is a very, very rare occurrence, it’s not unheard of. This was an active area during WWII, with the Concord Naval Weapons Station nearby,” Jones said.
She added that while sweeps of the area, sometimes used as a swimming spot during summer months, are not performed by the park district or any other agency, the district relies on visitors and staff to report any suspicious activity or materials in the park.