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Man Finds Two Grenades in Dumpster in Woodlawn Tuesday

By  Mina Bloom and Andrea V. Watson | January 27, 2015 1:47pm | Updated on January 27, 2015 3:15pm

  Willie Johnson Jr. found two grenades Tuesday in a dumpster at 69th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue while looking for scrap metal.
Grenades in dumpster
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ENGLEWOOD — A man said he found two grenades Tuesday in a dumpster on the South Side.

Around 8 a.m., Willie Johnson Jr. was going through dumpsters in alleys in Woodlawn looking for scrap metal and other items to sell, when he found two grenades in a dumpster at 69th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, he said.

Using a blue jumpsuit he had in his car, Johnson wrapped up the grenades and drove to his uncle's auto shop, Used Auto Parts at 620 W. 59th St. in Englewood, for guidance, he said.

His uncle called the police around 11:50 a.m., police said.

"I feel like the Lord is always sending me to the right place at the right time," Johnson said, adding that the grenades "might've gone off in the dumpster and killed someone."

Chicago Fire Deputy District Chief Mitchell Crooker said the grenades looked "completely harmless" and "wouldn't have exploded."

Police were taking the necessary precautions, he added. An ambulance and three fire trucks were also at the scene.

Police closed off portions of 59th Street between Wallace Street and Lowe Avenue, according to Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman. 

The Police Department's Bomb and Arson Unit is investigating the incident. 

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