The New York Police Department struggled to attend to a grenade left abandoned at the back of an Uber taxicab on Saturday night due to anti-Israel protesters blocking the roads, The New York Post reported.
The Uber driver had allegedly discovered the grenade after dropping a passenger off at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.
Police were eventually able to cordon off the Uber, later telling the Post that the grenade had been inert.
Several of the protesters, who were heading toward Times Square, were arrested for blocking the emergency police transport attempting to reach the grenade, according to the report.
Official comments on the incident
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry criticized the protesters, writing on X, "Happy Saturday to all! Except the people who thought it was a good idea to block an NYPD ESU [Emergency Service Unit] vehicle on the way to a bomb threat call. They will be spending their Saturday where they belong - in jail!"
Happy Saturday to all! Except the people who thought it was a good idea to block an NYPD ESU vehicle on the way to a bomb threat call. They will be spending their Saturday where they belong - in jail! pic.twitter.com/C0adj5waUj
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) March 2, 2024