A World War II grenade was found in a vehicle that had been parked for about three years.

The Sheriff’s Dept. Bomb Squad on Wednesday night responded to the discovery of a grenade in a vehicle at Bob Smith Toyota. Photos by Mary O’KEEFE

By Mary O’KEEFE

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad detonated a World War II grenade that had been found in a vehicle in the rear parking lot at the north end of the Bob Smith Toyota dealership on Wednesday evening.

At 4:31 p.m. an employee contacted Glendale Police Department concerning a grenade that had been found in a vehicle.

“The vehicle had [apparently] been purchased by one of the [Bob Smith] employees about three years ago,” said Sgt. Kevin Dizon, GPD.

The vehicle had sat in the parking lot for about three years until Wednesday when the employee decided to clean it out, Dizon said.

It was then that he found the grenade.

Glendale officers cordoned off the sidewalk just north of Vons Market, blocking the driveway to Classic Collision, Inc., which is on the Toyota property.

A few residents in the apartments directly north of the Toyota dealership were evacuated. The alley that separates the apartment complex and the dealership was also cordoned off.

The members of the bomb squad team X-rayed the device but could not tell if it was active due to its thick metal casing.

As a safety precaution the officers treated it as if it was an active device and prepared to detonate the grenade.

There was delay in the detonation due to civilians who jumped over the fence into the alley to apparently get a closer look to the explosive device.

The first detonation did not break through the thick metal, so another detonation had to be performed which rendered the grenade safe at about 7:25 p.m.

The area remained closed as law enforcement and firefighters cleared the debris.

Bob Smith Toyota employees watched the events unfold from the parking lot but would not comment on the incident.