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.
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Frank Pichizaza, a construction worker, told PIX11 News the grenade was found over the weekend but police weren’t called until Tuesday morning.
“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.”
The street, located beneath elevated subway tracks, was taped off as police and fire personnel responded to the scene.
The NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the Bomb Squad were called in to remove the device. The Bomb Squad removed the grenade and transported it to Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx, where they determined it was inert.
No injuries were reported, officials said.
A trains temporarily stopped running between Rockaway Boulevard and Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard because of the NYPD investigation. The last stop on Lefferts Boulevard-bound A trains was Euclid Avenue or Howard Beach-JFK Airport, according to the MTA. Normal service has since resumed.
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.
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