Bomb squad removes suspicious device from NYPD precinct: police

EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) — A domestic assault involving a machete led to the NYPD Bomb Squad removing a suspicious device found outside a Manhattan police precinct on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

At 11:50 a.m., two uniformed officers assigned to station security were approached by a vehicle with two males inside. They were cousins, and the driver indicated he was a victim of a domestic assault inside the vehicle, police said.

The driver also claimed the passenger had used a machete to assault him while in the car. The suspect was taken into police custody, and police recovered a machete. The victim also indicated there was an explosive device in the vehicle, police said.

The NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit and the NYPD Bomb Squad responded to the scene outside the 25th police precinct on East 119th Street in East Harlem.

Video from the scene showed officers putting bomb-protection gear on an officer, who then walked toward the scene.

The NYPD Bomb Squad secured the device around 3 p.m. and removed it from the scene, police sources said.

“The dive is a potentially viable improvised explosive device based on its outside appearance,” Lieutenant Mark Torre said in a press conference. “A pip-bomb-type device that is relatively large.”

Police are still investigating whether it can explode or if it is an item made to look like a bomb but cannot detonate. If it is determined to be a viable explosive device, it could be capable of causing death and property damage, Torre said.

Police at this time have no reason to believe there was a specific plot related to using the device. Sources say the suspect is possibly emotionally disturbed. An investigation remains ongoing.

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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