A grenade found in the street near Hexter Elementary.

Police cars, fire engines and bomb squad trucks crowded near Hexter Elementary Tuesday evening as a robot was deployed near the school to dispose of a grenade. A section of Peavy Road was blocked off near the school.

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In a blog post, Dallas Police Department wrote, that “at 5:20 p.m., a citizen arrived at their residence in the 600 block of Peavy Road and spotted what was believed to be a grenade. The device was in the street near the curb. The citizen called for police and when the officers arrived, they confirmed that the device appeared to be an actual grenade. The Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Unit was notified.

When the EOD Unit arrived the device was analyzed and it could not be determined if it was a live grenade. Using the bomb robot, the EOD Unit removed the device from the street and transported it to a nearby field and a protective bunker was constructed. The device was placed in the bunker and it was rendered inert. The device will be collected for analysis.”

A neighbor posted on Nextdoor that her husband moved their trash can to block the grenade from traffic as he discovered it on a walk with the their child in the stroller. The family called 911. The photo shows the grenade on the street in broad daylight while youth soccer teams practice in the adjacent field.

Neighbor Bonnie Trei reported seeing the bomb robot deployed near the intersection of Harter and Peavy, just a couple blocks away from Hexter. Neighbors were evacuated from their homes nearby, and Trei reported seeing authorities piling up mulch from an area home in a field at the school, where the grenade was deactivated.

On Facebook, Mark Clayton wrote, “Dallas Police have unloaded a bomb detination unit to dispose of live ordinance [sic] near Old lake Highlands Road and Peavy Road. The ordinance[sic] is not what has been found in Austin or surrounding communities but we are disposing of it in an abundance of caution. I will report when it is disposed of and I know more.”

Neighbors reported hearing an explosion just before 11 p.m. Tuesday night.

Hexter principal Jennifer Jackson posted on Facebook that a potentially explosive device was found near the school, and that law enforcement officials deactivated the device on the soccer field Tuesday night. She reported no injuries and confirmed that school will take place as usual tomorrow after a careful search of the school and grounds.

Neighbor Emily Pepper Whitzel, who lives near Hexter, said, “There is no need to cancel school. This was an old grenade that was not intentionally placed in the street near a trash can. I have been there since 7:30 p.m. Our awesome DFD and DPD along with DISD police took every precaution and treated the situation as it should have been.”

Clayton later posted on Facebook, “A neighbor threw away a hollow grenade because apparently that’s a thing you can do these days … Our first responders blew it up to make sure becuase they’re professionals. There was zero explosive materials in the grenade. There is zero danger to the area and I’m so sorry for the stress on the neighborhood. Thank you to DPD for responding so quickly. They do amazing, selfless and life threatening work. Please tell them that you value them. It matters.”

Due to the series of bombings in Austin, tensions are high in the neighborhood. We will update as more information becomes available.

Police unloading the bomb robot (photo courtesy of Bonnie Trei).