Conn. Mom Arrested After Son Brings Grenade To Show-And-Tell

STRATFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) - The mother of a 12-year-old Connecticut boy has been arrested after police say her son brought a grenade to school for a show-and-tell related to 70th anniversary of D-Day

Lisa Miguel, of Stratford, was charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of an explosive.

Stratford Academy was placed on lockdown Friday. Students were sent to the back of the school. A bomb squad determined the grenade was a simulator used for training and still had the pin inside.

"My daughter came home and said, 'Mom, we had a lockdown,'" Barbara Duggan, the mother of a sixth-grader, told CBS 2's Lou Young. "I asked why, and she said, 'Somebody brought a grenade to school."

"It's very scary ... because children do not know the power of this," said Lakshami Shankar, the mother of a fourth-grader.

"We always certainly don't want to see any of our parents get arrested here," added Kyle Siljawaki, the father of a third-grader. "It's a great community, but at the same time, it was a pretty dangerous situation."

Miguel, 44, didn't immediately return a message Tuesday seeking comment. Police say she told them the grenade had been a gift from her father, a World War II veteran, who had told her it was a dud. Miguel had kept it in her home for years, police said.

"She should have contacted the Police Department or a military service to identify what the item was and if, in fact, it was a dud," said Stratford Police Capt. Paul DosSantos. "It is technically property of the military, and civilians should not possess such an item."

State Police say simulator grenades can combust and cause injuries within a 20-foot radius.

Miguel was released without bail and is due in court next week to face a judge, Young reported.

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