LAKE COUNTY, Ind. — A hand grenade found as a family went through an older relative's belongings exploded, killing an Indiana man and injuring his two teenage children, police said.
The coroner's office said the victim was 47-year-old Bryan Niedert. He was killed Saturday evening at the home in the community of Lakes of the Four Seasons in northwestern Indiana, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Niedert's two children, a 14-year-old boy and 18-year-old girl, were taken to a hospital with shrapnel wounds.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez said investigators were trying to determine what caused the grenade to explode in the home about 30 miles southeast of Chicago.
“Investigators are still trying to determine elements of the case including, but not limited to: whether the device may have self-detonated due to its age or other factors, whether the pin was pulled or whether any other circumstances may have been involved,” the sheriff's department said.
Authorities didn’t immediately release any additional information about the grenade or why the relative had it.
