GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Police say several suspicious devices found earlier this week near a Grants Pass fast-food restaurant were, in fact, live explosives.
On November 12, landscaper Stephen Rogers was working a typical day near the north Grants Pass McDonald’s, just south of Interstate 5 Exit 58.
Just before 11:00 a.m., Rogers found something unexpected. “I was basically just picking up glass bottles so we’re not mixing the glass with the debris that we’re taking away. I go and look over, and there’s a grenade,” he said.
Rogers said he immediately called police to the parking lot near McDonald’s.
The Grants Pass Department of Public Safety cleared the area and closed off a portion of 7th Street. They also called the Oregon State Police Bomb Squad, who uncovered three more similar devices. “Within five seconds of digging around, he found the three right underneath where that one was,” Rogers said.
At the time, it was not known if they were harmless inert novelty grenades, which are sold to the general public.
On November 14, GPDPS said they determined three of the four devices were live explosives. No other explosives were found during a secondary sweep of the area.
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