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87-year-old's grenades prompt police panic

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87-year-old's grenades prompt police panic

A police station in western Stockholm was evacuated in panic on Thursday after an elderly man turned in two grenades for confiscation.

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Since March 1st, a weapons amnesty has been underway in Sweden allowing residents to turn in their weapons over to police without facing any criminal penalties.

However, when an 87-year-old man brought in two grenades to a police station in Vällingby in western Stockholm on Thursday, concerned staff members were left in a state of panic.

"The reaction was swift. We evacuated the whole police station and a nearby building was cordoned off," Peter Sarman of the local police told news website Nyheter24.

"It's only specially trained police officers who can determine whether such grenades are armed or not. We were forced to play it safe."

The grenades, however, were deemed to be inactive, and the police took to their Facebook page to explain that such situations should be avoided in the future.

"Grenades can detonate during transportation," they warned, adding that bomb technicians should be called in when such weapons are concerned.

They added that the amnesty does not include explosives, only firearms.

On Monday, police in Trollhätten in western Sweden were also left with a grenade in a bag from state-run alcohol monopoly chain Systembolaget. The grenade was believed to be from World War I.

TT/The Local/og

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