Police in Indiana said an old hand grenade detonated inside a home Saturday, killing a man and injuring his two children.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Department pronounced 47-year-old Brian Niedert dead at the scene in Lakes of the Four Seasons. His 18-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son were taken to the hospital after suffering shrapnel wounds from the explosion.
Authorities said the trio were looking through their grandfather’s old belongings when they came across the grenade.
Police initially said someone pulled the grenade’s pin, causing it to explode.
But detectives told WMAQ-TV on Sunday that they were still “looking into whether the device may have self-detonated due to its age or other factors, [or] whether the pin was pulled.”
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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