Police: WWI grenade found in Iowa City home was live

IOWA CITY — Iowa City police said the World War I era grenade found in an Iowa City residence Tuesday was live.

The police department was called to an east side Iowa City residence on Tuesday after a resident there reported they found a vintage WWI hand grenade in a storage area. The caller also told police they didn't know if the grenade was real or a replica.

Police investigated and the Johnson County Metro Bomb Squad was called to the scene. Bomb squad officers determined the grenade was a WWI Model 24 Stielhandgranate-German Stick Grenade.

The bomb squad removed the grenade from the residence and 'disrupted' it at an undisclosed location, police said. When the grenade was disrupted, the bomb squad learned the grenade was still live.

Police said the grenade was a souvenir of a World War I veteran that had been packed away in the early 1970s and had not been touched since then.

Iowa City police Sgt. Scott Gaarde said no charges would be filed in the case.