Federal Way Washington – Police Pull Over Man With Hand Grenade On I-5

Federal Way police today arrested a man with a live grenade who said he was on his way to blow up the Federal Building in Seattle, according to the Washington State Patrol.

State Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill said earlier that the device was a live hand grenade. He later referred questions to Federal Way police and spokeswoman Stacy Flores refused to discuss what kind of explosive it was.

Flores said the motorist made no threats during Tuesday’s traffic stop.

She said the motorist, who had a suspended driver’s license, consented to a search of his vehicle and officers also found narcotics. The man was taken into custody.

We will continue to follow this story and post additional details as they become available.

Tip: B. Schafer

UPDATE: This story changed considerably, overnight.

A man with a disarmed hand grenade gave Federal Way police a brief scare Tuesday afternoon.

The man voluntarily told police the device was in the car after he was pulled over on the Interstate 5 on ramp from South 317th Street for driving alone in the high occupancy vehicle lane about 4 p.m., spokeswoman Stacy Flores said.

The man did not tell officers grenade was deactivated, she said. Grenade shells are legal to own and can be purchased from many military surplus stores.

The bomb squad was called out and the ramp was closed for a short time.

The man, who was not identified, was arrested, however. Police say he was driving with a suspended license and had drugs in the car, along with the HOV violation.