Panic when grenade found outside Myrtle Beach hotel, until police discover it was fake
.jpg "A police car turns on its lights. (Jan. 18, 2013)")
The discovery of a hand grenade at a Myrtle Beach hotel caused a few anxious moments until police learned it was a fake.
The suspicious item was found near the La Quinta Inn on 4709 N. Kings Hwy. When police got there early Thursday morning, they located a red MK-2 hand grenade. The pin was still in and secured on the fuse, according to a police report.
This type of grenade was initially used by the armed forces in World War II until the 1960s. Police saw that the pin was still in the grenade, meaning it had not been triggered.
Once officers decided the grenade was not an active threat they called a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division bomb technician to handle the grenade.
Police later determined that the explosive appeared to be a novelty grenade, according to Myrtle Beach Police Public Information Officer Tom Vest, and there was never any threat to public safety.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 11:01 AM.
