POUGHKEEPSIE – A resident of Hudson Heights Drive found what appeared to be a hand grenade inside of an assortment of antiques they had recently purchased. City of Poughkeepsie police officers responded to the location at approximately 1 p.m. on Saturday to assess the situation.
The officers on scene were unable to determine if the object was a live hand grenade. The Westchester County Hazardous Devices Unit (Bomb Squad) was summoned to the scene while Poughkeepsie firefighters responded with apparatus and staged in the area. Local residents were evacuated from their dwellings until the scene was deemed safe by the bomb squad technicians.
The bomb squad technicians determined that the object was a grenade with a replica body, a real (inert) fuse, and pin assembly. The bomb squad secured the device and transported it back to their facility so it could be destroyed.
The Westchester County Hazardous Devices Unit is one of only 13 bomb squads in the State of New York and is accredited by the FBI. According to Westchester County, the unit is comprised of highly skilled and exceptionally trained technicians that respond to calls for service that include possible improvised explosive devices, bomb threats, military ordinance, volatile chemicals, deteriorated explosives, and dangerous fireworks.
