The family was going through a grandfather’s belongings when they found a grenade. Authorities are investigating how it was detonated.
An Indiana father was killed and his children were left injured after a grenade they found in a grandfather's belongings detonated.
Officers responded to the family's home on Saturday to a report of an explosion at around 6:30 p.m., according to a statement from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. When they arrived on the scene they found an unresponsive adult male and two of his kids, with wounds from the explosion, said the statement.
The man was later pronounced dead and his two kids, 14 and 18, were transported to the hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
The deceased man was identified by the Lake County Coroner as Brian Niedert, according to CBS News.
The Porter County Bomb Squad was asked to assist and was able to secure the scene and search for any possible additional explosive devices, the statement said.
The sheriff's department said in its initial statement that it was reported that while the family was going through a grandfather's belongings the grenade was found and someone pulled the pin. In an updated statement, the sheriff said the investigation is ongoing and needs to determine how it was detonated.
The detectives are looking into “whether the device may have self detonated due to its age or other factors, whether the pin was pulled or whether any other circumstances may have been involved,” said the sheriff.
