Hand grenade found inside Cape Coral home

A hand grenade was found inside a home that was being cleaned out in Cape Coral.

The Cape Coral Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad responded to the scene located on Southwest 38th Street, near Surfside Boulevard, on Wednesday afternoon.

The CCPD said the hand grenade was found inside a home, and per safety protocol, the LCSO bomb squad assisted with a large response and contained the scene.

Police said the hand grenade was real but was not live, and it was safely removed from the home and is now in the hands of officials.

WINK News reporter Maddie Herron spoke to the homeowner, Jan Harris, who had no idea a potential explosive was sitting on her shelf.

She said the grenade belonged to her late husband, who used to work in law enforcement.

“It belonged to my husband. He was a policeman in Indianapolis, and I don’t know why he had it,” she said.

She also had no idea whether it was active, so she called the police.

“I’m having an estate sale at my home this Saturday and Sunday and the people who were working there found it on one of the shelves in my garage,” said Harris. “I’m glad that I called them and they confirmed it … You just don’t know who would come to the sale, and a little kid could pick it up or something, so yeah I did absolutely the right thing.”