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Fake Grenade Prompts Oakland Courthouse Evacuation

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Aug 20, 2008 3:22 pm US/Pacific

Fake Grenade Prompts Oakland Courthouse Evacuation

OAKLAND (BCN) ―

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Streets around the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland reopened Wednesday after a bomb squad decided a grenade in a man's car trunk did not pose a threat, Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.

Nelson said the man had found the grenade at his uncle's house and drove it to the Oakland Police Department to turn it in, Nelson said.

The man parked across from the Police Department at the courthouse, located at 661 Washington St., and informed police the grenade was in his trunk, Nelson said.

Police called the Alameda County sheriff's bomb squad around 11:45 a.m., evacuated the courthouse and blocked off traffic in the surrounding area.

The bomb squad determined the grenade was a training grenade that looked real but was not explosive. Streets were reopened around 1 p.m.
Nelson urges anyone who finds a dangerous object to leave the object where it is and call for help.

"He had the right intentions," Nelson said. "But people should call police or call the sheriff's (office) and we'll gladly pick it up, no problem, because we want to."