Paris church evacuated after elderly woman brings grenades found in apartment building
A church in southern Paris was briefly evacuated on Sunday after an elderly woman brought two objects resembling grenades to the building after finding them near her cellar.
The incident occurred at Notre-Dame-de-la-Gare church in Paris's 13th arrondissement shortly before a scheduled service. The woman had reportedly discovered the objects in a communal area of her apartment building and took them to the church to show the parish priest.
Around 100 parishioners evacuated
After being shown the objects, the priest reportedly moved them into the sacristy before emergency services were alerted.
Police quickly arrived and evacuated approximately 100 parishioners from the church. A security perimeter was established around the building while specialists assessed the objects.
The response involved technicians from the Central Laboratory of the Paris police prefecture, accompanied by a specialist canine unit.
Objects found to be harmless
Bomb disposal specialists examined the two items and determined at around 11:20 a.m. that they were a plaster grenade and a smoke grenade.
Neither object was considered dangerous, allowing authorities to remove the security measures and permitting the church service to proceed normally.
The discovery nevertheless prompted a precautionary response because of the uncertainty surrounding the objects when they were first brought into the church.
Police also inspect woman's home
Authorities subsequently checked the elderly woman's residence to determine whether additional potentially dangerous objects were present.
No other grenades were reportedly found during the inspection.
The parish priest was also reported to have indicated that he did not wish to file a complaint over the incident.
The episode ended without injuries or damage, after specialist teams established that the objects posed no threat to the church or its congregation.
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