‘My heart just started beating like crazy’: Lincoln man finds grenade in home
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A man found a grenade in his northeast Lincoln home on Friday.
Bill McFarland has been buying abandoned storage units for years.
He then sells the items in a yard sale at his home near 70th Street and Cotner Boulevard.
But as he was sorting through the contents of some units, he found a possible live hand grenade with the pin still in it.
“I thought, ‘Well, this isn’t too good. I’ve got to put this down right now and get away,'” McFarland said.
He called law enforcement immediately.
“I think my heart just started beating like crazy because things happen so fast,” he said. “I mean, that thing could just jiggle the wrong way and the pin could fall out.”
McFarland put a pause to his yard sale for the safety of everyone in the area.
“I didn’t want to make a big commotion, but taking care of this and doing the right thing the right way is more important,” he said.
Lincoln Fire & Rescue sent the Hazardous Device Team to the scene to get the grenade out safely.
Spokeswoman MJ Lierman said it was inert, and the grenade was handed over to the Military Explosive Ordinance Disposal team.
McFarland said this isn’t the first time he’s found something suspicious in a storage unit.
He’s found things like drug paraphernalia and even a stolen pistol.
He said he always turns those things over to police.
But despite these dangerous discoveries, he wants to keep buying storage units.
He sells items from the storage units for only a couple of dollars in his yard sales.
But he said it’s less about the money and more about connecting with people in the community.
“It gives me something to do because I’m retired, and I miss my job,” McFarland said. “And my wife passed away. My wife and I used to go to a lot of auctions, too.”
And occasionally, he finds treasures.
“I’ve found old first-edition books, and I’ve found jewelry and valuable things,” McFarland said.
He was glad to see the grenade taken away so he could continue his yard sale.
