PINE KNOLL SHORES, N.C. (AP) – Police in a North Carolina beach town are warning people to be careful after a resident picked up military ordnance from the beach.

The Pine Knoll Shores Police Department issued a statement Friday about the unusual event on the island beach along the North Carolina coast.

Police say a resident found a strange object on the beach then took it home and put it in a flower garden.

The resident became concerned when the object began smoking. It was taken to a fire station and determined to be a phosphorous military ordnance device.

A U.S. Marine Corps unit came and safely disposed of the object. No one was injured.