FALMOUTH, Maine — The Goodwill store on Route 1 in Falmouth was evacuated Wednesday because of an apparent grenade donation.
Falmouth Police Chief John Kilbride said the fragmentation hand grenade was found inside a military can as Goodwill employees were searching through donated items.
"We had a grenade donated to the store today," Heather Steeves, communications manager for Goodwill Northern New England, said in a news release. "It's our protocol to evacuate the store and call the local police."
Falmouth officers didn't know if it was real or fake, so the Portland Police Department's Hazardous Devices Unit was called to the scene. Officials determined it was not a live grenade. Kilbride said it was a real grenade, just inert, and Portland police planned to destroy it.
Falmouth police are investigating to try to figure out who dropped off the grenade, according to Kilbride.
Steeves said Goodwill does not accept grenades, even deactivated ones, as donations.
For a list of items Goodwill does accept, click here.