Police in California, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, have some pretty gnarly stories stemming from wild police chases. On May 2, the Berkeley Police Department, Oakland Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol had to work closely with regional bomb squads after a 28-year-old suspect in a stolen vehicle tried to lose cops by tossing a grenade from the window.

Carlos Kuceja, living illegally in Berkeley, was reported to police for stealing a car in Oakland. Police pursued him, following him back into Berkeley, where he tossed a bag from the driver’s window. A CHP officer, who was nearby but not engaged in the pursuit, picked up the plastic bag. Inside was a grenade with the pin partially removed.

That’s when officers quickly jumped into action.

“Officers immediately notified the Berkeley Police Department of their discovery and requested assistance in securing the area. Traffic was promptly detoured away from the vicinity, and officers began evacuating homes and businesses nearby,” wrote the CHP on Facebook. “Following the incident, the grenade was examined by EOD personnel and determined to be live and capable of detonating.”

The grenade tosser was caught shortly afterward

Police pursued him for a few more miles until Kuceja turned onto a dead-end street. He tried to flee on foot, but police caught him and took him into custody. To ensure Kuceja didn’t have any more explosives in the car, the UCPD Bomb Team searched the car, and it came up empty.

After learning his address, police searched his home to confiscate any more explosives. Neighbors were ordered to evacuate for their safety. Officers couldn’t find any and lifted evacuation orders after 10:30 p.m. that day.

Because the explosion could have been catastrophic, he’s being held in the Santa Rita jail without bail and faces felony charges for possession and transportation of a destructive device, possession of a stolen vehicle, fleeing from police, and resisting arrest.

Readers were happy the chase ended safely

The CHP’s post as of May 5 has 540 comments, 2,200 reactions, and 572 shares. All of the commenters were thankful the grenade didn’t have a chance to go off, and that everyone was safe.

“Wow, this could have been so, so bad,” one viewer wrote. “Thank God it didn’t go off. Great work, guys!”

Another said they were glad the CHP officer who saw the bag fly from the window picked it up when he did.

“I’m glad they saw this being thrown out the window! I can’t imagine if someone else picked it up,” they commented.

Many saw the opportunity to joke about the delayed release of Grand Theft Auto 6.

“Man, we got GTA Berkeley before we got GTA6,” they wrote.