East 23rd Street in Sheepshead Bay briefly turned into a police staging area on Wednesday after a woman spotted what looked like a hand grenade inside her home and called for help. The NYPD Bomb Squad and Emergency Service Unit rushed in, sealed off the block and examined the device, eventually determining it was inert. No one was hurt, though neighbors said the woman was badly shaken and suggested the object may have belonged to her father, who served in the military and collected relics decades ago.
According to News 12 | Brooklyn, the 911 call came just after 4:15 p.m. Officers headed to 2668 East 23rd Street, where the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit shut down the immediate area while Bomb Squad technicians took a closer look. News 12 reported that the unit cleared out roughly two hours later after declaring the device inert, although police said it still was not clear whether the item was an actual hand grenade. No injuries were reported.
How bomb technicians handle suspicious items
For the Bomb Squad, anything that even resembles military ordnance is treated as the real thing until experts can safely rule otherwise. Technicians typically secure the scene, inspect the item and, when needed, move it to a controlled location for closer examination or disposal. Popular Mechanics has detailed how the NYPD relies on specialized containment vehicles and the Rodman's Neck range to dismantle or detonate questionable devices far from crowded streets. Those precautions are standard procedure, even when a suspicious object turns out to be completely inert.
A neighborhood that's seen similar finds
Sheepshead Bay is no stranger to this kind of scare. In 2023, a grenade discovered near the Holocaust Memorial Park was also examined by the Bomb Squad and declared inert. That earlier case, reported by CBS New York, underscored how old military relics can occasionally surface in shore-side neighborhoods. Residents on East 23rd Street said they stayed calm on Wednesday while officers and technicians did their work.
Federal guidance is clear on what to do when someone stumbles on a suspicious device. People are urged not to touch or move it and to call 911 immediately, advice echoed by law enforcement and preparedness agencies including CISA. Leaving the object where it is, backing away to a safe distance and giving first responders clear details about its location are the safest moves while trained bomb technicians handle the rest.
