A hiker's discovery on a trail at Harrison Hills Park sent first responders racing to the 500-acre Harrison Township park Saturday morning, shutting it down for about three hours until the Allegheny County Bomb Squad confirmed the item was a grenade — and that it wasn't live.
First responders were dispatched at 11:42 a.m., according to a release from Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company No. 4, as reported by WPXI. Allegheny County police and the county bomb squad responded over concerns about potential hazards, and officials said no one was injured during the response. A Channel 11 spokesperson confirmed the item recovered was a grenade that turned out not to be live.
While WPXI reported the item was found on a hiking trail, TribLIVE reported the discovery occurred near the park's soccer fields. Authorities closed the park until about 3 p.m. while the investigation unfolded, and Allegheny County police say they are continuing to investigate the incident.
A Park Built for Hiking, Not Headlines
Harrison Hills Park spans 500 acres along Freeport Road and sits roughly 400 feet above the Allegheny River, serving as the eastern terminus of the 35.7-mile Rachel Carson Trail, per the same Allegheny County park description cited by TribLIVE. Beyond its wooded hiking trails, the park includes soccer fields and environmental education facilities that draw regular weekend crowds. It's one of nine regional parks managed by the Allegheny County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, a system that collectively covers nearly 12,000 acres across the county.
Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Company No. 4, also known as Station 169, is headquartered on Freeport Road near the park entrance, and firefighters from the company responded to the incident.
The Bomb Squad's Response
The Allegheny County Police Department Bomb Squad responded to the Harrison Hills Park incident.
Saturday's scare fits a pattern Hoodline has tracked across the region this year. In August, Pittsburgh's Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was called after a grenade turned up inside a public trash container outside the William S. Moorhead Federal Building downtown; officials believed it was likely inert but were still working to verify that. Months earlier, in April, police and bomb squad technicians closed off streets on Pittsburgh's North Side after an inert training grenade was spotted sitting on a residential porch. Both incidents prompted emergency responses.
Not every regional callout has ended with an all-clear for a fake. In November 2024, a West Virginia resident was charged after bringing a live flash-bang grenade into a TSA security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport, forcing EOD technicians to clear the area before travelers could proceed.
Who Left the Grenade?
How the grenade ended up on a trail in a suburban county park remains unclear. Allegheny County police have not said whether they have identified who brought it there.
The park was closed until about 3 p.m., and the investigation continues. Saturday's response marks the latest in a string of grenade scares that have kept Allegheny County's bomb squad busy well beyond the city limits this year, from a Downtown trash can to a residential porch to the trails of Harrison Hills.
