KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2025 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mesa Goodwill store evacuated following donation of mortar

Sorting donations at the Goodwill store on Indian School Road and 7th Avenue in Phoenix.  Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona opened ten new stores last year.
Claire Caulfield/KJZZ
Sorting donations at the Goodwill store on Indian School Road and 7th Avenue in Phoenix. Goodwill of Central and Northern avenues Arizona opened ten new stores last year.

Goodwill stores sometimes receive strange items. On Thursday, one such donation forced the evacuation of a Mesa Goodwill at Dobson and Guadalupe Roads.

The Mesa Police Department said the donated item “appeared to be an old military-style mortar.”

Since police did not know whether the mortar was live or had been modified, the department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit was called. Nearby businesses were also evacuated while the mortar was examined and safely removed.

Goodwill’s guidelines for donations say weapons cannot be accepted.

More Retail + Consumer News

Ignacio Ventura is a reporter for KJZZ. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in news media and society.