Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – The Jonesboro Police Department was called to Goodwill on Caraway Road Friday afternoon after two World War 2 era explosive ordnances were discovered in a donation box.
“[Goodwill employees] found items that appeared to be military-style ordnance,” said Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott. “They immediately contacted the police department, evacuated the building, and waited for the arrival of the officers.
After arriving on the scene, JPD discovered what appeared to be two military style devices.
“The protocol is, we contact bomb disposal out of Jacksonville Airbase; they’re currently en route. They will come down and take care of the items and safely neutralize them,” said Chief Elliott.
The Goodwill employees indicated that the devices may have come from an elderly person’s donation.
“This is something we’ve seen many times before. Many of our military veterans, especially from the World War 1, World War 2 era, brought home souvenirs,” said Chief Elliott. “A word of caution is, when you’re going through your loved one’s belongings, and you see things that are military in nature, some kind of grenade or ordinance round, whatever it could be, just leave it as is. Contact the police department and let us come and deal with it.”
As of this writing, JPD was waiting on bomb disposal. They advise residents to stay away from the Goodwill shopping center until the area is secure.
“Once we render the scene safe and clear, after that, Goodwill will resume operations, and everything would be good to go,” said Chief Elliott. “There’s a protocol, and unfortunately, it’s time-consuming because we have to wait for them to load up and make the drive down.”