Police investigating a May 20 grenade blast in Lakes of the Four Seasons have revised their preliminary conclusion as to what happened.
Lake County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Pam Jones in an email Sunday said detectives are now considering whether the device may have self-detonated due to its age or other factors or circumstances that could’ve caused the grenade to explode. It still could be that someone pulled the pin, but the investigation is ongoing, she said.
Meanwhile, there’s been an increase in calls of people finding explosives over the past few years, and if that happens, residents really should just call local law enforcement, which in turn will get a hold of the Porter County Bomb Squad, Porter County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Ben McFalls said Monday.
Typically, the squad — comprising four technicians and four non-technicians from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Portage Police Department and Indiana Department of Natural Resources — responds to around 30 calls for incendiary devices per year, McFalls said. But if that sounds like a lot, consider that the number is spread out over Porter, LaPorte, Starke, Jasper, Newton, and Pulaski, and calls for detonated devices are far less, he said.
Because it’s much harder for a service person to bring home an incendiary device now, the hardware the squad deals with is old, McFalls said. Some are inert, but enough are active and can lead to situations like the one in Lakes of the Four Seasons.
A man was killed and his two teenage children were injured Saturday night when a grenade found in a relative’s belongings exploded, according to police.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified the man Sunday as Bryan Niedert, 47, of Crown Point. An autopsy is pending.
Around 6:30 p.m., officers from the Lake County Sheriff’s Department responded to an explosion that occurred in the 3400 block of W. Lakeshore Drive in Lakes of the Four Seasons. The family members had been going through their grandfather’s belongings when they discovered a hand grenade, police said. At some point, someone pulled the pin on the grenade and it detonated, according to a release from the sheriff’s department.
Police found a man who was unresponsive at the scene and he was later declared deceased, while the man’s two children, a 17-year-old son and a daughter, 18, suffered shrapnel wounds and were transported to an area hospital, police said.
The area was secured by the Porter County Bomb Squad, while they determined whether there may be additional explosive devices. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Homicide detectives and CSI unit are investigating.
Lake County Coroner David J. Pastrick released a statement expressing condolences and prayers to Niedert’s wife and family.
“Thank you to all law enforcement agencies for their quick response and assistance with this tragic circumstance,” he said.
No further information is available at this time.
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Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.