World War II military rounds discovered in Tacoma yard after bomb squad call
A routine home renovation in Tacoma took an unexpected turn Wednesday when workers found World War II-era military rounds buried on the property, which led to a visit from the bomb squad.
Shelbie Boyd, spokesperson for The Tacoma Police Department, told The News Tribune the house is in the 1300 block of North Hawthorne Street, and TPD received a call about a suspicious object during the evening of June 3.
In a Thursday Facebook post, TPD said it sent some officers, as well as its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit.
Once crews arrived, they examined the object and determined it was a piece of military ammunition.
“During a search of the property, technicians located a second suspicious item,” the post said. “Further inspection revealed the items were two WWII-era M77 90mm armor-piercing rounds.”
The rounds were made of steel and contained no explosives, the post said, weighing just over 23 pounds each. The Army’s EOD squad has taken custody of the items.
“These types of rounds were historically fired from tanks and anti-tank cannons,” the post said. “... While this discovery turned out to be non-explosive, it’s a great reminder that if you come across a suspicious military-looking item, do not touch or move it. Leave the area and call 911 so trained personnel can respond safely.”
What should I do if I find a suspicious object?
According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), dangerous military items can include “small arms ammunition, projectiles, cartridges, bombs, rockets, pyrotechnics, grenades, blasting caps, fuzes … simulators, and explosives.”
“Military munitions are designed to kill or injure enemy forces or damage enemy equipment, and contain some form of energetic material [like] propellants, explosives, or pyrotechnic mixes,” the DOD’s website says.
These objects are most commonly found in areas the DOD uses or has formerly used – such as installations and military ranges – but can be found anywhere, the website says.
The website said threatening military objects can take on many shapes or sizes, with some looking like bullets or bombs, while others look like “metal pipes, soda cans, small balls, or even an old car muffler.”
They can look old or new, the website said, and are considered extremely dangerous no matter what the size or age.
The DOD encourages residents to follow the “three Rs” if they spot a potentially dangerous object:
- Recognize: Be aware of when you may have encountered a military munition, and know they are dangerous.
- Retreat: Carefully leave the area, and don’t approach, touch, move or disturb the item.
- Report: Call 911 and tell police what you saw and where you saw it.
Damage from a military object can vary depending on the size of the object, the website says. If a small munition goes off in an area the size of a bedroom, it could damage the bedroom and kill or hurt everyone in the room. Larger munitions would likely destroy the bedroom as well as damage nearby rooms or the entire house, hurting or killing anyone in its path.
“Munitions should never be approached, touched, or disturbed in any way because they can explode, causing serious injury or even death,” the website says.
