No charges made after 'fake grenade' found on U of I campus

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - The University of Illinois Police gave the all clear after a suspicious device was found on campus late Monday afternoon.

According to the U of I Division of Public Safety, UIPD officers were sent to Temple Hoyne Buell Hall just before 5:30 p.m. after a worker found what they thought was a grenade on their desk.

Police evacuated the building and area, while an alert was sent to students and staff.

University of Illinois Police investigators determined the suspicious device that prompted Monday evening’s Illini-Alert was an inert device, specifically a non-explosive cast iron replica grenade paperweight inadvertently left behind by a student after class.

While officers were on scene, a student who received the Illini-Alert approached police and explained that the item found in the classroom may have belonged to them.

The student told investigators they had used the cast iron paperweight to hold down papers during class. Students left their belongings in the classroom before moving outside for the remainder of the class period, and the student did not return afterward to retrieve the paperweight and other items.

When the professor later returned to the classroom, they noticed the replica grenade and contacted police. The report prompted an Illini-Alert and response from the East Central Illinois Bomb Squad, whose technicians examined the device and determined it was non-explosive.

After speaking with the student and investigating the circumstances, UIPD determined there was no intent to cause alarm and no danger to the campus community. The student was released without charges.

The University of Illinois Police Department appreciates the professor for promptly reporting a suspicious item and the student for coming forward to help officers quickly determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“We want people to call us when they see something that doesn’t look right,” said University of Illinois Police Chief Matt Ballinger. “In this case, it turned out there was no danger, and that’s the outcome we hope for. We would much rather investigate something harmless than have someone hesitate to report something that could pose a real threat to our campus community.”