What are you supposed to do if you accidentally stumble on an old hand grenade while magnet fishing? According to one Florida man, you’re supposed to go to Taco Bell. Duh!
Why Taco Bell? Who knows! Yet Taco Bell was exactly where one unnamed Florida man went after he found a hand grenade while fishing in the small Florida community of Ocklawaha. But not just any Taco Bell. The man drove to a Taco Bell in Ocala, a town roughly 20 minutes away.
According to officers with the Ocala Police department, the man called them at 5:01 pm to let them know that he’d found a hand grenade and then driven to Taco Bell, presumably for dinner.
Authorities then promptly arrived on the scene and shut down the restaurant so their bomb squad could inspect the device and “ensure everyone’s safety.”
Taco Bell on E. Silver Springs Blvd. has been evacuated. A man found a hand grenade while magnet fishing in Ocklawaha, put it in his trunk, and drove to Taco Bell prior to calling 911. MCSO bomb squad is currently on scene to ensure everyone’s safety. pic.twitter.com/sgGmXDkAXB
— Ocala Police Dept (@ocalapd) January 26, 2019
And this is where the story gets far more interesting. It turns out the device wasn’t just an old grenade — it was an authentic, untriggered and hopefully now-defective World War II grenade.
Look:
UPDATE: This has been verified as an authentic WWII hand grenade. The bomb squad removed the grenade without incident and advised it would be disposed of properly. Taco Bell has reopened. https://t.co/o7CnxowRZZ
— Ocala Police Dept (@ocalapd) January 26, 2019
Nothing else is known about the incident, including why the grenade was in a Florida lake or pond, and why the unnamed man put others’ lives at risk by taking it to a Taco Bell.
Though the grenade was clearly roughly nearly three-quarters of a century old, that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. Authorities across the nation have warned time and time again that antique weapons — such as those stored by their deceased relatives — should never be handled directly.
“Don’t assume it’s safe. Let us come out and take a look at it. We’re available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rather than someone get hurt, we’d rather come take a look at it,” Grand Rapids Police Department Lt. Mike Maycroft said back in 2014.
It was said in regard to a story in MLive.com about families of deceased veterans from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars discovering antique weapons among their keepsakes.
Even so-called “training” weapons aren’t safe.
“Lt. Pat Merrill, who worked as an explosive ordnance disposal technician in the Air Force, warned that training devices can lull people into a false sense of security. People sometimes wrongly assume a device is safe because it sat in a cabinet for decades. Fragmentation could easily sever a finger or take out an eye if a training grenade is pointed in the wrong direction,” MLive.com reported.
Again, why did the man in Florida bring the grenade to Taco Bell!?
Some think he needs to be cited, if not arrested:
I hope this dumbass was issued some sort of citation for endangering the public.
— Tea Party (@RadicalGOP1) January 27, 2019
Quite a few others think that, well, this whole situation is deserving of some jokes:
“The man found the grenade while fishing in Ocklawaha, put it in his trunk and drove to the Taco Bell, Ocala police said.”
( as one does ) https://t.co/Tmn17Rdue7
— Like John Bercow, But With Puns And ??n (@EnnisCole) January 27, 2019
Nachos Bell Grena-de
— Jessicat Furever (@JessicatFurever) January 27, 2019
I’m in Ocala Florida tonight for the first time in my life. A man brought a hand grenade into a Taco Bell here today. I’m reminded why Florida is unique. You keep being you Florida.
— Droolbib (@AppelOfMyEye) January 27, 2019
I’ve heard of explosive diarrhea st Taco Bell, but this is ridiculous
— KCDC (@VaughnBeethoven) January 27, 2019
Fishing today was a blast
— Token Ginger (@Mikey966H) January 27, 2019
It was how big?
— Stephanie (@Wrknpoor01) January 27, 2019
What the hell do you use for bait to catch a grenade?
— John Mitlo (@JohnMitlo) January 26, 2019
Har, har, har!
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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