Two explosive devices were found inside a shed in Columbia Sunday, according to the Forest Acres Police Department.
At about 4:30 p.m., officers responded to a call about the discovery of possible explosives in the 1400 block of Idalia Drive, police said Monday in a news release. That’s a block from Forest Drive, and half a mile from the Trader Joe’s grocery store.
At the scene, officers found one rocket-propelled grenade (anti-tank munition) and one mortar round, according to the release.
Officers determined that the bombs were manufactured around the 1950s based on evidence at the scene, police said. Information about the nature of that evidence was not available.
Police said the Richland County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad was also called to the scene to assist in the removal of the devices.
Members of the bomb squad determined the rocket-propelled grenade was inactive, but the mortar round was considered to possibly still be active, according to the release. Both were removed for destruction from the location by the bomb squad without incident, police said.
“These devices have been discovered in the greater Fort Jackson area for years by numerous citizens,” Police Chief Don Robinson said in the release. “If and when you discover one, we advise all citizens to assume that the explosive could be live and contact law enforcement immediately.
“Never, ever move one on your own. That is not a risk worth taking.”
No injuries were reported.
Police are continuing to investigate how the explosive devices came to be on the property. There was no word about who reported their presence to the police, but no charges have been filed connected to the explosives, according to the release.
This is not the first time this year that an explosive device was found in Forest Acres.
In January, a child found a grenade inside of a concrete block that was buried in the backyard a home in the 2000 block of Dalloz Road, police said. That’s a mile from where the explosives were found Sunday.
The bomb squad also was called during that incident, and determined that the grenade was a training weapon and was not a live explosive, according to police.
Information about where the grenade came from was not available, and there was no word how it wound up buried in the backyard.
Child finds grenade buried behind home in Columbia, SC police say