Oklahoma

Scuba diver finds live tear gas grenade while exploring Oklahoma lake

The diver found the grenade in the Marietta Landing area of Lake Murray

Love County Sheriff Office

A scuba diver stumbled upon a live tear gas grenade at the bottom of a lake in Oklahoma on Thursday.

The diver called deputies saying he had found a bomb or smoke grenade in the water at Lake Murray near Marietta, Okla. Deputies from the Love County Sheriff Office and an officer with the Lighthorse Police Department arrived at the scene and confirmed that the device was a live CS gas grenade, according to the Love County Sheriff Office Facebook post.

The sheriff office said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Squad was able to date the grenade back to the early 2000s and will detonate it at a later date.

β€œThis is a great example of a citizen locating something they knew to be dangerous and contacting [authorities] so that it could be disposed of properly,” the sheriff office said in its post.

A photo from the sheriff office shows that the device was labeled β€œM7A3 Riot CS.”

"The M7A3 is a CS-filled burning-type grenade,” a U.S. military document on grenades and pyrotechnic signals dated August 2021 said. β€œThe choking agent is designed to control counterinsurgencies and for other tactical missions. It is a riot-control grenade that may also be used to simulate casualties during training."

It is not clear how the device ended up in the water.

The sheriff office recommends those who encounter a similar device to call authorities to assist in disposing of it safely.

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