50 pounds of dynamite found in elderly man’s home

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. (AP) - Authorities in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park found 50 pounds of dynamite in the basement of an elderly man’s home.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports (https://bit.ly/1tlBdEa) the 24 sticks of dynamite weighing 50 pounds were found Wednesday. The authorities say the dynamite was in the home for 60 years.

Evergreen Park police Lt. Pete Donovan says a caretaker found the dynamite while helping the 93-year-old homeowner clean out his water-damaged basement.

The owner asked the caretaker to throw out the explosives. However, the caretaker called police, who summoned the Cook County sheriff’s bomb squad and locked down a four-block area.

Donovan says the dynamite was taken to a quarry for detonation. He adds the man told police the dynamite was dropped off by a friend who was moving to California.

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Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, https://www.suntimes.com/index