The Rangueil Emergency Department in Toulouse, France, was evacuated after surgeons discovered a live artillery shell from 1918 inside a male patient.

The 24-year-old French national arrived late Saturday night “in a state of extreme discomfort, having inserted a large object up his rectum,” an insider said. Emergency surgery revealed the source of his pain: a live, pointed shell over an inch wide.

Because the shell was live, hospital staff called in bomb disposal experts and the fire brigade. A security perimeter was established around the medical center while authorities safely removed the munition. The patient remained at the hospital to recover from surgery.

Local reports noted that the incident may have resulted from a party stunt or sexual activity gone wrong, with La Dépêche writing that Toulouse medical personnel are “accustomed to treating victims injured during sexual games.”

Authorities are expected to interview the patient, and prosecutors are considering legal action against him for possession of “category A munitions.”

The shell itself dates back to World War I, used by the Imperial German Army and similar to ordnance recovered during the annual “Iron Harvest” of unexploded munitions in France.

The unusual case highlights both the dangers of handling historical explosives and the extraordinary circumstances emergency staff occasionally encounter.