A quiet evening of magnet fishing along the Charles River quickly turned into a scene from an action thriller when a hobbyist fished out what was later identified as live military ordnance, prompting a swift response from local authorities. According to NBC10 Boston, Sean Martell, who operates a YouTube channel called Brockton Magnet Fisher, was recording his escapades when he extracted the explosive from the river's depths.
"Oh no. That's a bomb, guys," announced Martell during the live stream of the discovery. Speaking to NBC10 Boston after the incident, Martell expressed relief that he was the one to find the ordnance instead of an unsuspecting child. "As soon as I put it down, I saw that it had the head on it still, and I was like, 'I'm going to have to call the police,'" Martell told NBC10 Boston.
The location, near Kendrick Street at the Newton border, became the center of attention as Needham and Newton police, along with firefighters, rushed to the scene, as reported by The Boston Globe. The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad was also dispatched to ensure the safety of the community. The bomb squad subsequently closed the street and prepared a controlled detonation of the mortar, with area residents being warned of the imminent loud explosion.
The spectacle, with emergency vehicles and flashing lights, compelled authorities to send out a public safety alert about the controlled detonation, which was successful. The warning, notifying residents of a possible loud explosion near 135 Pine St., was intended to avoid any unnecessary panic. "There is currently no threat to the public and the incident appears to be isolated," Needham police stated in a Facebook post obtained by The Boston Globe. Following the detonation, Kendrick Street was reopened, restoring a sense of normalcy to the area.
