AN explosive device that was left outside a chapel in Barangay San Nicolas, Cebu City caused a stir late yesterday afternoon.
Police officers and barangay tanods immediately responded to a report that a hand grenade was placed inside a plastic container and left beside the Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel in Tabada Street.
According to PO3 Jessi Tañola of the Mambaling Police Station, they received the report at around 6:20 p.m. on Monday.
“When we arrived, the tanods were already there, but they were also hesitant since it was a grenade,” he said.
“We checked it, and we confirmed that it was really a hand grenade,” the policeman added.
They then contacted the Bomb Disposal Unit of the Cebu City’s Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) who arrived at the scene an hour later at around 7:20 p.m.
The team from Swat confirmed that it was a grenade and brought it with them, according to Tañola.
Tañola said that based on his talks with some of the residents in the area, there appears to be no intention to create alarm or panic when the owner of the grenade left the device in the open.
“Based on my assessment, the owner could just be a resident in the area,” said Tañola.
“Maybe he was confused about what to do with it, whether to surrender it or not. So maybe he just left it there,” he told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.
The grenade is currently in the possession of Swat while police continue to track down the owner of the explosive.