Explosive Find in Santa Monica Apartment Garage

It's bound to be remembered as most exciting cleaning session in one building manager's life.

She was cleaning out a rented garage of a deceased tenant and unearthed souvenirs and memorabilia, including a box of antique pyrotechnics, smoke cans and a Mk 2 hand grenade, known more commonly as a "pineapple" grenade because of its shape and grooves.

The discovery prompted a short evacuation of the apartment building in the 2400 block of 20th Street Sunday night while the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad detonated the weapon, triggering a small but audible explosion.

"The elderly resident was a veteran and had used the garage to store his personal items," the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement.

Pineapple grenades were used by the American military in World War II and the Vietnam War.

"It was a real grenade. If the pin comes out of the thing, it goes off," said police spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis.

Lewis said residents were allowed back into their homes by 9 p.m. The call was at 5:10 for a "suspicious package," he said.

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