Authorities destroyed a grenade found Tuesday at a secondhand store in Bayamón while still trying to determine where it came from. Ismael Cartagena, director of the Police Explosives Division, told El Nuevo Día the controlled demolition took place around 5:30 PM the previous day at the agency’s shooting range in Isla de Cabra. He said the color of the smoke indicated the grenade still had an explosive charge inside.
Cartagena described it as a military-origin MK-2 'pineapple' grenade manufactured around 1945, near the end of World War II. When it explodes, he said, it fragments and each fragment becomes a projectile comparable to a .357 caliber firearm round. Despite its age, it was well preserved and its mechanism was functional.
He noted those near the device were fortunate that the safety clip did not come loose when the box holding the merchandise was moved. The store, on PR-174, receives donations without requiring donors to identify themselves. On Wednesday, agents were interviewing employees and reviewing security camera footage to determine who left the box.
Cartagena said the FBI and ATF are kept informed under these protocols. ATF usually traces explosives by serial number, but this grenade had none because they were not applied when it was made. He added that explosive devices have previously been found among belongings of former U.S. armed forces soldiers.