Someone dropped donated a live mortar shell to Goodwill in Placerville, Califonia. While the shell, thought to be leftover from World War II, would likely have fetched more than the usual bric-à-brac on offer, the organization is clear that they don’t accept donations of live ammunition. From CBS Sacramento:
Goodwill says people often drop off items in boxes that haven’t been looked through, and sometimes the donations are from a deceased war veteran…
“As we sort through those things we often find war memorabilia, grenades, it’s rare that we find a live grenade or any live ammunition, but when we do we have protocols in place to make sure that we dispose of it safely,” said Richard Abrusci, President and CEO of Goodwill Sacramento.
In the case of this potentially explosive mortar, the bomb squad came in to take it away and disposed of it at Travis Air Force Base.