Bomb squad removes grenade from outside Chase Bank in Queens: NYPD
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A grenade was removed from outside a Chase Bank in Queens on Tuesday, according to the NYPD. Emergency personnel closed off 112th Street and Liberty Avenue in South Ozone Park, causing traffic delays and road closures. Officials asked the public to avoid the area, according to Notify NYC. A trains stopped running between Rockaway Blvd [...]
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) -- A grenade was removed from outside a Chase Bank in Queens on Tuesday, according to the NYPD.
Emergency personnel closed off 112th Street and Liberty Avenue in South Ozone Park, causing traffic delays and road closures. Officials asked the public to avoid the area, according to Notify NYC.
A trains stopped running between Rockaway Blvd and Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd because of the NYPD investigation. The last stop on Lefferts Blvd-bound A trains was Euclid Av or Howard Beach-JFK Airport, according to one tweet by the MTA.
Frank Pichizaza, a construction worker, told PIX11 News the grenade was found over the weekend.
“We started working on an apartment above the building over the weekend. We did not know it was a grenade,” Pichizaza said. “It was heavy and we brought it down and put it on the street. We finally saw someone and we told someone what we found and that’s when they called the police. I did not know it was a grenade, but now I’m scared.”
In a video posted to Citizen, heavy police presence was at the scene. The area beneath the subway tracks was taped off and at least one crew of FDNY members was in fire gear.
The New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit and the bomb squad were called in to remove the device. The NYPD Bomb Squad removed the grenade and transported it to Rodman's Neck in the Bronx, where they will determine whether it is live or inert.
No injuries were reported, officials said.
The grenade was determined to be inert, police said.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.