Training grenade found at Alameda Middle School

On October 20th, a man using a metal detector at Alameda Middle School came across an unexpected find. An old training grenade had set off his sensor near the football field.

The man had moved the grenade before police arrived and discovered that it was hollowed out and presented no danger.

Pocatello Police have no idea how the grenade made its way onto the campus, or how long it had been there.

“It could have been there 30-40 years,” Lt. Eric Anderson said. “We just don’t know.”

Anderson said this isn’t a common occurrence, but, “nothing surprises me anymore.”

Once the device was deemed to be empty, the man who found it, Rick Szelmeczka, requested to keep it. Pocatello officers granted his request.

Anderson believes that there are a lot of “old war” relics around, hoping there aren’t more around area schools.

“But you never know,” he said.

The school was not in session at the time the device was found, as it was a Saturday.

The school may or may not have been alerted about the find.

“I don’t know that we alerted them at all…because it was a total benign situation, so we didn’t need to tell them anything,” Anderson explained.

“At that point, it’s just a piece of metal.”

Anderson said people have called after finding things “in grandpa’s basement…grenade launcher type stuff,” but hopes this find is an anomaly.

Both Alameda Middle School and Mr. Szelmeczka were not immediately available for comment Thursday.