3 businesses near Old Town Clovis temporarily evacuated over grenades

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- It was a quiet afternoon in Old Town Clovis on Tuesday.

Blaine Nall and his colleagues were just about done with their day when a customer came into the store.

The man wanted the Halfcocked Gunsmithing and Firearms crew to help him with his neighbor's items that were collecting dust.

"He came in and he had one inert shell, and we knew what it was. He opened up an ammo can and pulled out two grenades, old two pineapple grenades," Nall said.

Nall says they did some quick research and realized the grenades were live.

"We went around before the police came, and we evacuated everyone from the buildings. Everyone across the street, down the street, everywhere," he said.

Clovis Police and its bomb squad arrived within minutes.

Thankfully, no one was injured but it could have been a much different story.

Just a few months ago, three Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputies were killed by a grenade at a training facility.

The devices were inspected and believed to be safe before they exploded.

Clovis Corporal Dan Wilson encourages everyone to be cautious when coming across an explosive.

"The biggest thing is you have anything like that that would be suspicious in nature. Whether it's ammunition or anything that could be a suspicious device, please give us a call," Cpl. Wilson said.

The nearby shops were able to resume business not long after those grenades were collected.

Police say the old explosives were properly disposed of.

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