'Live cluster bomblet', ammunition found in Goodwill donation, Wisconsin police say

An explosive device, identified as a "live cluster bomblet", was discovered at a Goodwill store in Janesville, Wisconsin, the Janesville Police Department said.

The incident occurred on Friday morning as store employees were performing inventory on donated items. Employees found ammunition and an explosive device in the pile of donated items, police said, in an alert.

Local authorities immediately responded to the situation, evacuating the store and nearby buildings and businesses, urging residents to avoid the city block, as technicians with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad investigated the device.

The device was ultimately identified as “a live cluster bomblet" and was collected by the bomb squad to be destroyed, said the police.

The evacuated area, as well as the Goodwill store, was reopened the same day, approximately 2.5 hours after it was closed.

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Investigation into donation underway

While the person responsible for placing the device within the donated items is yet to be identified, 8NewsNow reported that Sgt. Benjamin Thompson of the Janesville Police said that further investigation indicated that the ammunition and device were “accidentally” included in the donation, rather than intentionally placed.

Janesville Police thanked residents and workers for their cooperation and patience during the investigation and advised residents to reach out to dispose such devices responsibly.

"Residents are encouraged to call us at 608-757-2244 to have old military ordinances or any suspicious device disposed of responsibly," the police department said in the alert.

Goodwill also requests donors to refer to the non-profit's donation guidelines prior to donating to ensure the safety and security of community members.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

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