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US News

Goodwill evacuated after live ‘cluster bomblet’ found among donations

By
Chris Nesi
Published Oct. 29, 2023, 2:22 p.m. ET

Authorities are looking for the person whose donation to a Wisconsin Goodwill last week included ammunition and a live explosive device, kicking off a bomb scare and evacuations of the area.

Employees of the thrift store in the city of Janesville outside Madison made the startling discovery Friday morning while inventorying donated items, prompting the evacuation of an entire city block for more than two and a half hours while authorities investigated, police said.

The Dane County Bomb Squad was dispatched to the scene and collected the explosive device, identified by police as a “cluster bomblet,” to be safely destroyed, authorities said.

“Employees quickly followed safety protocols by informing store and donation center management and safety teams who then evacuated the building out of precaution for shoppers, donors and employees,” Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin wrote in a statement.

“The Janesville Police Department and Dane County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to the incident and provided further community safety guidance. The store and donation center resumed operations for shopping and donating shortly after 1:30 p.m.,” the agency said.

A Goodwill store with blue awnings and parked cars in the parking lot.
Employees of the Goodwill donation center in Janesville, Wis., discovered live ammunition and a “cluster bomblet” while doing inventory on donations Friday. WKOW
A group of Goodwill employees and other onlookers huddle around two vehicles in the parking lot outside the store.
The store and surrounding businesses were evacuated after the discovery. WKOW

No one was hurt in the incident, but Janesville cops are searching for the mystery donor of the highly dangerous items. In a statement, the police department urged residents who have “old military ordinances” to contact it to ensure the devices can be properly disposed of.

Although the age and size of the “cluster bomblet” found at the Goodwill location was not immediately known, the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster munitions have been banned worldwide since 2010 when the United Nations Convention on Cluster Munitions went into effect.

More than 125 nations have signed the treaty, which defines cluster bombs as “a conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions, each weighing less than 20 kilograms,” or about 44 pounds.

Goodwill employees weren’t the only ones to unexpectedly find themselves face to face with a live explosive device in recent days.

Earlier this month, a pair of fishermen in Scotland unknowingly reeled in a live World War II-era grenade from the Union Canal.