COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Thieves may have thought they stole explosives, grenades and tear gas canisters from a Columbus Bomb Squad training facility last month, but they got a loss less than originally thought.
The explosives were fake, the grenades weren't live and the tear gas canisters were empty.
Police arrested three people Monday on the city's south side in connection with the break-in.
The Columbus Division of Fire oversees the bomb squad training facility and has upgraded the security system at the facility since the break-in.
Investigators said they believe the thieves spent three hours using a hacksaw to cut their way through locks.
Search warrants were executed Monday at two locations inside the Fairlane Mobile Home Park on South High Street.
Investigators recovered several empty tear gas canisters used for training purposes. They also found a bulletproof vest -- one of several that went missing from the facility.
Also recovered were blasting simulators which have the power of an M-80 firework.
None of the stolen items are considered explosives that would be used to harm another person.
"You have to understand that almost everything they keep there is inert…It's training devices. But there are some live shells. There's some things that in the wrong hands could cause some problems," said Assistant Chief Karry Ellis, of the Columbus Division of Fire. "The vests are the thing that we find troublesome. There was a whole stack of vests and those are out in the community somewhere and we're trying to recover them."
Investigators interviewed the three suspects Monday afternoon.
Charges have not been filed, but they are pending in relation to the break-in.
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