Military-grade explosives are getting into the hands of car thieves in California‘s San Francisco Bay Area, and now beyond. Someone reported an early 2000s Toyota Sienna minivan stolen to Sacramento police on April 22. A day later, police recovered it, and a K9 alerted its handlers to something hidden in the van.

The California Highway Patrol described that day as “not your average workday” when the K9 discovered a live 60 mm mortar round. However, the mortar would prove to be anything like they’d ever seen before.

“This military-grade munition was not under military control and had been modified, making it even more dangerous,” the department wrote on Facebook.

The agency had to call in the big guns to be able to handle it safely without risking detonation.

“Fortunately, our highly trained CHP Bomb Squad responded quickly and worked alongside the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from Beale Air Force Base to safely neutralize the device.”

California criminals have used explosives before

On May 2, not too long after this incident, a Berkeley man lobbed a live grenade out of the window of a stolen car while police were pursuing him. Officials said the grenade could still detonate, even with the pin only partially removed.

The Berkeley bomb squad neutralized the grenade, and the man responsible was arrested. The two incidents aren’t related, but officers aren’t sure where people are getting these explosives from.

Readers of the department’s post were glad everyone ended up walking away and that no one was hurt. However, some were able to recognize that being a CHP officer was not for the faint of heart.

“If I’d been the recovering officer, I would have required immediate laundry service after seeing that thing,” wrote a user.

Others were curious as to how the thief got hold of a mortar round

Another reader told a story about when their father was a police officer in Sacramento.

“When my dad was an officer, now retired, for Sacramento, he’d ask the driver if they had any guns, knives, or hand grenades during traffic stops,” they wrote.

Someone else was curious about how thieves were getting their hands on explosives of that caliber.

“Why are those things just out in the community like that?” they asked, “What auditor failed their job at the armory?”