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Grenade Victims Identified; Photos Released

(Updated) Officials have released the names of three people injured in a grenade explosion Sunday afternoon in Jay, along with photos of a second grenade found later.

Shortly after 4:00 Sunday afternoon, Santa Rosa deputies were dispatched to the 3800 block of Nowling Road just south of Jay for three males injured when a car battery exploded.

When the Jay Fire Department and deputies arrived, they found that three had be injured by a hand grenade that exploded.

One victim, Johnny Bruce Pyles 29, was transported by Life Flight to Sacred Heart Hospital with severe injuries and trauma to his body and hands. Pyles was holding the grenade in his hand when it detonated. The two other victims, James E. Grice, 37, and Zachary Talbot, 26, were transported to Jay Hospital with serous injuries suffered from the shrapnel from the grenade. They were later transported to other hospitals having the resources to care for trauma type injuries. All three men are from the Jay area.

Initial investigations reveal that the subjects were standing outside around the bed of a pickup truck (pictured left) when they were handling the grenade. When it exploded, the shrapnel pierced numerous parts of the pickup truck, leaving fragments from the grenade in the surrounding vicinity. The fuse, pin, and various fragments of the grenade were recovered at the scene, according Sgt. Scott Haines, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’ Department.

In addition to sheriff’s office investigators and crime scene, ATF and the State Fire Marshal’s Office also responded and are participating in this joint investigation. Investigators searched the premises for other possible devices and none were located.

Investigators went to the residence of one of the other victims, which is also located in Jay, and located a second hand grenade and the ATF took it into their custody. Investigators are in the process of determining where the devices were obtained and what the victims were doing with the grenades.

The investigation into the incident is continuing.

Pictured above: A grenade found Sunday in Jay. Pictured below: An ATF agent hold the pin from a grenade. Pictured bottom: Shrapnel from the explosion hit the toolbox on the truck. Submitted photos.