A Tucumcari homeowner cleaning out a house he'd bought from an estate opened a bedroom drawer Friday and found three hand grenades that police said were potentially live. The discovery shut down the 400 block of South First Street for roughly four hours while a state police bomb squad responded and emergency officials warned nearby residents to stay away.
The man had purchased the home from the estate of a U.S. Navy veteran from the Vietnam War era, according to Eastern New Mexico News. He was in the process of cleaning the property when he came across the grenades tucked in a bedroom drawer, a detail confirmed by the Albuquerque Journal. A cellphone picture of one of the devices showed it with its pull ring still intact, the same outlet reported.
Interim Police Chief Mel Lolmaugh said the grenades were “potentially” live, prompting officers to treat the scene with caution rather than take any chances. He and his officers evacuated the area around 2 p.m., closing both directions of South First Street as a precaution while they sorted out next steps. Quay County Emergency Management followed up with text messages warning residents in the area to steer clear until further notice.
Bomb Squad Called In As Block Stays Sealed Off
A New Mexico State Police bomb squad member arrived at the scene, with a second team member expected around 5 p.m. so the two could work together to remove the grenades, according to the Albuquerque Journal's reporting. The closure kept the block locked down for the better part of the afternoon as the operation unfolded. Police issued an all-clear text notice shortly before 6 p.m., according to Eastern New Mexico News, ending the hours-long street closure.
No injuries were reported throughout the incident, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The episode adds to a small but notable pattern of old military ordnance turning up in homes tied to deceased veterans or their estates. Earlier this year, the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad seized two hand grenades from the home of a deceased Hemlock resident for safe disposal, according to mlive.com, while a box bought at an Austin, Texas estate sale was separately found to contain multiple live World War II-era grenades, as reported by CBS News.
What Happens Next
As reported by KVII, the discovery rattled a quiet residential block in Tucumcari for an afternoon before officials lifted their warning. For now, the full outcome of the grenade removal has not been detailed publicly, and it remains unclear whether the devices were ultimately confirmed to be live.
