Grenade found in Goodwill donation bin

FALMOUTH, Maine (WGME) — Employees at the Falmouth Goodwill in Maine found a grenade in their donation bin this week.

Police determined it was not active, but it did cause a scare.

Goodwill employees say they do have a protocol for this type of donation. They immediately evacuated the store and called the Falmouth Police Department.

Officers brought in the bomb squad, who determined this was an inert grenade, which is often used as a military training tool and does not contain any explosives. The police did take the grenade off-site and said it would be safely destroyed.

This is not the first time a grenade has been donated to a Goodwill. There were two other incidents across the country of grenade donations just this year.

Goodwill's communication manager says the store was only evacuated for about 15 minutes but asks customers to be cautious about what they are donating.

"It is Maine, so we have antique items in our homes and in our barns that we might want to donate,” Goodwill Northern New England Communications Manager Heather Steeves said. “But just give it an extra glance before you do, because it can be really scary for our employees to find a literal bomb in their donations."

Employees want to remind customers that Goodwill does not accept any weapons, chemicals or aerosol products.