Police: East valley device thought to be explosive actually a ‘novelty’ grenade

Officers initially responded about 8 p.m. Wednesday to the vehicle, parked at a 4401 E. Bonanza Road convenience store on the southeast corner of Bonanza and Lamb Boulevard, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. David Gordon said.

Metro’s ARMOR unit, which falls under the department’s emergency operations bureau, found the novelty grenade inside, Gordon said.

All businesses on that corner of the intersection were evacuated, including a CVS drugstore, 4411 E. Bonanza Road, and the Cardenas market at 4421 E. Bonanza Road, Gordon said.

As a precaution, police also temporarily shut down traffic within a one-block radius of the reported device.

No one was injured, and traffic lanes were re-opened.

Review-Journal staff writer Mike Shoro contributed to this story.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.