Aurora’s municipal courthouse was locked down late Friday morning and early afternoon after a resident brought antique grenades near the building.
“Someone had some old grenades in their house, so they came to the police department and asked us to properly dispose of them,” Aurora Police Department spokeswoman Crystal McCoy said.
The grenades were in the unidentified person’s vehicle, which was parked near the courthouse. The courthouse is attached to the police department.
“As a precaution, because the courthouse is nearby, they evacuated some people,” McCoy said.
On Twitter, police said three Type-97 grenades were in the vehicle. Type-97 grenades were used by Japanese soldiers in World War II.
Bomb squad units from Buckley Air Force Base and Arapahoe County responded to the scene and took custody of the grenades for proper disposal, Aurora Police said on Twitter.
The courthouse was locked down as a precaution. That lockdown ended around 1:15 p.m., when the grenades were taken to the Air Force base.
#APDAlert A community member brought 3 Type 97 grenades to the Aurora Municipal Campus to be properly disposed of. Buckley AFB & Arap. County Bomb squad responded and will take custody of them for proper disposal/handling. As a precaution no one is allowed in/out of courthouse. pic.twitter.com/seZlYNvOU2
— Aurora Police Dept 🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 9, 2021
