ASHLAND, Wis. — A live hand grenade was discovered by True North Goodwill staff in a donation box sent from the organization’s Duluth location on Saturday.

“We don’t know exactly where it came from because our donations are put in bins,” Ashland True North’s Assistant Manager Homer Williams said. “When you put your hand in, you never know what you’re going to grab.”

Donated items come from Duluth’s Goodwill branch each Wednesday, and are usually reviewed by staff there, Williams said.

The explosive was found by a sorting staff at the store in nearby Ashland, Wis., around 1:15 p.m. It was immediately given to Williams. Based on a Google search, staff believe it was a Japanese Type 99 hand grenade from World War II.

“It doesn’t look like a typical grenade, but it had a pin,” Williams said. “As soon as it was discovered, I immediately put it outside between the dumpsters away from people and called the police.”

The store was closed and the building, located at 1810 Lake Shore Drive E., was immediately evacuated, Williams said. There were about six employees and nine people shopping there at that time.

Ashland Police Department was the first to respond to the scene. According to Williams, it took approximately 3 ½ hours for the Marathon County Sheriff Bomb Squad to arrive from Wausau, Wisconsin.

Williams said he spent the remainder of the night digging through the other donations to ensure there was no further danger to employees or customers.

“We think it was just somebody’s World War II stash that got mixed in when they passed away or something. I know it was live because they let me know they took it outside of town and blew it up,” Williams stated.

The Ashland True North Goodwill reopened for business on Sunday.

The Ashland Police Department and Marathon County Sheriff’s Department were not immediately available for comment.

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