Man gives kids 40 mm shell to play with; 2 killed, 5 hurt

Got a few rounds myslef 120mm, 25mm, 12.7mm, ect.......all inert of course. But I still have this hazed opinion on the 40mm naval round.....just don't feel safe around it.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/30/shell.explosion.ap/index.html

BAKERSFIELD, California (AP) -- A military shell given to a group of children by a neighbor exploded while they played with it, killing two children and injuring five others, police and witnesses said.
Police were investigating the cause of Tuesday's explosion, which damaged homes and forced neighbors to wrap bloodied and dazed children in blankets.
"As you can imagine, this was a traumatic experience for the kids and their parents," said Bakersfield Police Detective Greg Terry. "So it's going to take a while to sort things out,"
Andrew Etcheverry, 8, died at the scene, and Jeni Marie Klawitter, 7, died at the Kern Medical Center, the county coroner said.
The victims, the oldest 12 years old, suffered minor to moderate injuries. Police had initially reported that six children were injured but determined that a girl thought to be hurt was not at the scene when it exploded.
Frank Sendejo, who lives near the apartment complex where the explosion occurred, said Wednesday he had given a group of children a 40 mm shell. Police said they have talked with Sendejo.
Sendejo told The Bakersfield Californian that he thought the shell was spent and often used it as a "conversation piece." He said the firing pin and bottom shell casing had been removed, along with the gun powder inside.
"I thought it was harmless," he told the newspaper.
There have been no arrests or charges in the case.

Not seeing the Round in question, I would have to make the judgement from the info provided that having the "firing pin" (I'm guessing primer) and "bottom shell casing" removed would merely mean the Round was fired and that it was a dud.

U.S. Military Ordnance can never be trusted, no matter what color it's panted, no matter the markings, and is always the property of the United States Government, even Canon Balls from the Civil War, even those from the Southern States as the South surrendered to the North so all Ordnance became the property of the Union Army.
Well, unless one buys a paper weight hand grenade or such, which would have a big hole in the bottom, with nothing left in side. And even then, why give something like that to little kids to play with?

We used to give classes to Military Dependents in School about what to do if they ever saw a piece of Military Ordnance or Explosive/Pyrotechnic device laying around, picking it up was never on the list of things to do.

The punishment for taking a piece of Military Ordnance or Explosive/Pyrotechnic device off the Range or Battlefield, and having it end up hurting someone, in the worse case scenario a child, would be quite severe.
Military Dependents have in the past fell victim to very stupid people in Uniform, doing extremly dumb things, which are in the Military realm at least, illegal.

I don't know why there had been no charges filed, as just having the Round in question would be against some law, and then giving it to kids, who in turn got hurt and killed, well, I for one would like to know what happened to the idiot in question.
 
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