Sandy MaloneAurora, CO – The Aurora courthouse was shut down for hours on Friday after someone brought three unexploded grenades to the police station attached to the Aurora Municipal Center to have them rendered safe.
The area around the courthouse complex was locked down and evacuated shortly after 11 a.m. on July 9 after a community member brought three World War II-era grenades to the Aurora Police Department for disposal, KMGH reported.
The man told police he had found the Type 97 hand grenades, used by the Japanese during the Second World War, in storage.
Police said he brought them to the police station to have them properly disposed of, KUSA reported.
The courthouse went into lockdown and the area around the municipal center complex was evacuated while police brought in bomb disposal techs to deal with the antique hand grenades.
#APDAlert A community member brought 3 Type 97 grenades to the Aurora Municipal Campus to be properly disposed of. Buckley AFB & Arap. County Bomb squad responded and will take custody of them for proper disposal/handling. As a precaution no one is allowed in/out of courthouse. pic.twitter.com/seZlYNvOU2
— Aurora Police Dept 🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 9, 2021
Bomb squads from multiple agencies responded to the scene including the Arapahoe County Bomb Squad and one from nearby Buckley Air Force base, KMGH reported.
JUST IN: Aurora Police Department & Aurora Courthouse has been evacuated after someone brought three Type 97 grenades to the police department to be disposed of. Bomb Squad and Federal authorities are on scene
— United States News Block (@USNewsBlock) July 9, 2021
Police said the man never brought the grenades into the police station or any of the buildings in the municipal complex, but rather, left them in his trunk and sought assistance from authorities.
The Aurora Police Department said it was not uncommon for residents to come across military artifacts such as the grenades because the area was once home to three military bases, KDVR reported.
The courthouse complex was shut down because it was all connected to the police station through the municipal complex.
Domingo Moll, a library security guard, was locked down during her lunch break because of the chaos, KUSA reported.
“I spoke to one of the officers and he said there was a gentleman carrying World War II explosives in the back of his vehicle,” Moll said.
“I’m like bombs?” Moll said she asked. “Are we ok to be here? Should we take cover? Hide?”
But nothing so dramatic as that occurred during the three-plus hour lockdown, KUSA reported.
The man who brought the grenades to the police station refused to talk to reporters afterwards.
“It’s absolutely nothing to this story,” he told KUSA. “You guys are wasting your time.”
Holly Matkin
