Grenade found near church

Inert weapon and gun ammunition were next to a dumpster

PALO ALTO — An inert grenade and handgun ammunition were found Thursday morning next to a dumpster at a Palo Alto church, according to police.

An employee of Our Lady of the Rosary Church called police to report finding a box that did not belong to the church, located at 3233 Cowper St.

“I think our officer went out there just expecting a box of junk,” Sgt. James Reifschneider said by phone.

Instead, the officer was surprised to find ammunition still in the manufacturer’s box and a loose hand grenade round, Reifschneider said.

“Based on the marking, the officer determined the grenade appeared to be some sort of training or example type piece that once was an active round,” Reifschneider said.

“But since we’re not trained to identify explosives from an expert perspective, we erred on the side of caution and notified the bomb squad.”

Police called the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad shortly after 10:30 a.m. and evacuated a few church employees from the building, Reifschneider said.

The bomb squad determined that it was not a live grenade and took it. Palo Alto police took the handgun ammunition.

Reifschneider said police do not believe the church was targeted and suspect someone just wanted to throw the items away.

The Police Department advises against disposing of ammunition in this manner. Reifschneider said the Police Department can assist residents in finding ways to properly dispose of it.