Crime & Safety

'Grenade' Shuts Down Route 28, Deemed Harmless

Personnel from the Loudoun Sheriff's Office, Fire-Rescue, Bomb Squad and Fire Marshal were on the scene.

After a volunteer firefighter who was helping clear the scene of an accident on Route 28 spotted what appeared to be a grenade in one of the vehicles, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office shut down Route 28 for about two hours March 14.

Deputies responded to a rear-end collision in the northbound lanes of the road near Route 606 Wednesday evening around 6:25 p.m. As emergency workers began the cleanup, a volunteer member of a Loudoun fire station saw the grenade.

The lanes were shut down as a precaution while the LCSO, Loudoun Fire-Rescue, the Loudoun Bomb Squad and the Loudoun Fire Marshal investigated the item, which turned out to be a harmless replica grenade, according to a report from the LCSO. The alert announcing lanes were closed came at 7:45 p.m., and the road was reopened shortly after 9:30 p.m.

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The cause of the accident remains under investigation.


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