Tragedy struck an Indiana family on Saturday night after two teens and their father stumbled upon a hand grenade in their grandfather's possessions.
The incident took place just before 6:30 p.m. local time in a gated Northwestern Indiana community, Lake of the Four Seasons, roughly 54 miles outside of Chicago. A family living in the 3400 block of West Lakeshore Drive was going through a collection of items that belong to a grandparent when they discovered an old hand grenade. At some point, the Lake County Sheriff's Office explained in a statement shared to Facebook, someone is suspected to have removed the pin from the grenade somehow and it went off.
Deputies with the sheriff's office were called in after receiving reports about explosions in the area. Upon arriving at the home, an adult man was found unresponsive and later declared dead at the scene. The Lake County Coroner's Officer has since confirmed the deceased's identity as 47-year-old Bryan Niedert.
Two of Neidert's teenage children, an 18-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, were also found at the scene of the explosion with shrapnel wounds. They were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their identities have not been disclosed to the public at this time.
The Lake County Sheriff's Department Homicide detectives and crime scene investigation (CSI) unit are now handling the investigation of the incident. A bomb squad from nearby Porter County also assisted in determining whether or not any other explosives were present in the home.
In a statement to ABC News on Monday, Erik Longnecker of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, confirmed that his agency is also "supporting the Lake County Sheriff's Department and other partners in their investigation."
It is unclear at this time whether or not the grandfather who reportedly owned the hand grenade is currently alive. Authorities mentioned that it's not entirely uncommon for such things to be found in the possessions of veterans who served during major conflicts, according to a report from Sportskeeda. Grenades are also considered to be valuable items for collectors of military memorabilia.
While it was initially reported that someone potentially pulled the pin, other explanations are also being pursued. Deputies told NBC Chicago that they 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 circumstance may have been involved."
Newsweek reached out to the Lake County Sheriff's Office via email for comment.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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