WRENTHAM — Police are hailing the actions of two boys who discovered a grenade during an afternoon adventure in woods off Grants Mill Road on Wednesday.
The grenade turned out to be hollowed out and was not explosive, but that could not be easily determined until a state police Bomb Squad responded to the scene.
Instead of picking up the grenade, the boys took a photo of it and reported it to their parents, who contacted authorities, Police Chief Bill McGrath said Thursday morning.
“You have two young boys, 10 or 11 years old, who were out having a good time with no adults watching over them and they do the right thing,” McGrath said.
The grenade was found on a path into the woods about a quarter-mile off the road and was reported about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police and fire officials were on the scene for about an hour.
“Everything got done safely and by the book,” McGrath said. “You have to ask, ‘Is this what you would want your kid to do?’ You sure hope so.”
Had the grenade been explosive and picked up, McGrath said the boys could have been severely injured or killed.
It was not clear how the grenade ended up in the woods.
It is not the first time explosives or potentially dangerous devices have been discovered by residents and reported to police.
In 2019, a resident brought blasting caps to the police station after finding them in the home of a deceased relative not realizing the danger of transporting them.
After the state police Bomb Squad was called, they destroyed the devices — which were unstable — in a “controlled detonation” off Shears Street.
In 2018, there were three incidents.
In one, a resident found what appeared to be dynamite in the home of a deceased relative but it turned out to be homemade fireworks.
In the second, an old, inert grenade was found in an abandoned house on West Street, and in the summer, someone left an old grenade outside a donation box at the American Legion on South Street.
Police urge anyone who discovers what they believe to be explosives of any kind to call 911.
David Linton may be reached at 508-236-0338.