- At one thrift store, chaos broke out after someone donated a hand grenade.
- The donor told local police that he had been using the grenade as a paperweight.
- Local police said the grenade was a decommissioned World War II Mills grenade.
A Canadian thrift store was thrown into chaos Monday after staff found a World War II-era grenade inside a donation box.
Abbotsford police said in a statement Tuesday that they received a 911 call from staff at the store Monday afternoon. Local news agency CTV News identified the store as part of the thrift store chain Value Village.
Officers began evacuating the store and surrounding businesses “out of an abundance of caution,” the statement said.
Abbotsford police said they worked with the explosive ordnance squad to remove what was later determined to be a discarded World War II-era Mills grenade.
The donor, whose name was not disclosed by CTV News, told police he was using the grenade as a paperweight and made the donation by accident.
“You never know what you’re going to find if you’re frugal, and yesterday that proved to be true,” Abbotsford police said Tuesday.
This isn’t the first time someone has donated grenades to thrift stores.
In February 2022, the Junction City Police Department announced that a thrift store in Oregon found a grenade inside a box of donated items.
The St. Vinny’s store called police, who secured the device for disposal. St. Vinny’s said it could not determine who donated the explosives.
Representatives for Value Village did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment outside of normal business hours.
