SNELLVILLE, Ga.,None — A military explosive squad and Gwinnett police removed a live Japanese mortar round from a Snellville store on Wednesday afternoon.
The United States Air Force Explosive Ordinance Disposal team from Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb County was also involved in the removal of the device which dates to World War II.
A woman sold the Japanese mortar to the Army Navy Store on Highway 78 on Wednesday night, police said. The store owners did some research and realized it was completely intact.
"The clip that goes inside and holds the grenade, the pull string, everything was intact," store owner Jose Rivera told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh. "We thought it was going to be something simple. Just pick it up and go."
The owner called Snellville police, who immediately called Gwinnett County police. Gwinnett County police determined through an X-ray that the device was live and called military experts.
Rivera told Kavanaugh he paid the woman $50 for the relic.
"Really, I didn't think it was going to be this big a deal," he said.
WSBTV
