Fake Grenade Prompts Police Station Evacuation

By Sam Thrift Friday, October 07, 2011

The Williamsburg Police Station was evacuated at 9:50 Friday morning, after a woman brought what she believed to be an unexploded hand grenade into the station.

The woman, who police said has a background in military ordnance, found what appeared to be an unexploded, deformed grenade on the road near the intersection of Matoaka Court and Richmond Road, according to city spokeswoman Kate Hoving.

Hoving said city police notified local fire officials, who contacted the Department of Defense for assistance. They dispatched a team from the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station to the police station.   

The team determined the item was not an explosive device, but a cigarette lighter made to look like a grenade. The incident was over at 11:06 a.m.

Hoving said fire and police officials ask that residents who find something suspicious leave the item where it is and call 911, "for everyone's safety."