An unexploded World War I-era Scovill mortar shell recently was removed from an apartment in the Elm Garden Apartments complex in the Arnold area, and the St. Louis Regional Bomb and Arson Unit properly disposed of the bomb. A man who lives in the apartment said his father had given him the mortar shell, authorities reported.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office got a call from the Arnold-area man’s daughter at about 1:40 p.m. Feb. 19 and told deputies she was helping her father clean his apartment in the 3600 block of Elm Gardens Drive when she found the bomb. She also said her father said the shell was live, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Sheriff’s Office contacted the Bomb and Arson Unit to dispose of the shell. The Rock Community Fire Protection District also was called to the apartment, according to the report.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Adrian Washington said Bomb and Arson Unit personnel determined the shell was hazardous, removed it from the apartment and once it was away from the scene, rendered it safe.