That's No Xmas Ornament — That's a Grenade

An elderly Chollas Creek  woman is lucky to be alive after she mistook a grenade for a Christmas ornament and washed it while cleaning out her garage.

Multiple streets were blocked off Thursday afternoon in a residential area after the grenade was found, San Diego police said.

The World War II Mark 2 grenade was identified by a worker hired to help clean out the woman's home.

"I directly brought it out of the garage to the back of the truck," said David Goodman, who found the explosive device. "I let the lady know it was a grenade. She had no idea it was a grenade. She thought it was a Christmas ornament, and she had washed it like 15 minutes prior to me picking it up. She had no idea it was a grenade, no idea, and I was laughing at her: You just washed a grenade!"

Redwood and Winlow streets were closed at about 12:30 p.m. near where the grenade was discovered at 5448 Redwood St. Officers determined about an hour later that the grenade was real but not live, and the scene was cleared shortly after.

The woman's late husband fought in World War II, and investigators think it's possible he brought home the grenade when he returned to the United States.

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