Hand grenade detonated in Hampton Bays

Recommend

Comment

Email this article

Print this article

Get news alerts

RSS Feeds

Share Digg Mixx Linked In Facebook Twitter Delicious

The hand grenade was found about 6 feet from the eastern shore of the canal, just north of the Montauk Highway overpass.

A live hand grenade was detonated by police in a sandy pit just east of the Shinnecock Canal in Hampton Bays last Wednesday night after a fisherman alerted the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol to the explosive.

Officers detonated the grenade at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, in order to safely dispose of it, explained Chief Michael Sharkey of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. No one was injured in the incident.

“We don’t know how it got there,” Chief Sharkey said. “We don’t know where you would get a hand grenade, unless it was from a military surplus.”

No arrests have been made. Investigators with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office still do not know who placed the grenade in the water or how it got there.

Stephen Ryan, the owner of Tide Runners restaurant on North Road, which overlooks the Shinnecock Canal, described the sound made by the detonation of the hand grenade as a “loud boom, louder than any fireworks.” Patrons of Mr. Ryan’s restaurant had to be evacuated between 9:30 and 10 p.m. while police moved the grenade to a sandy pit and detonated it.

At around 5 p.m. last Wednesday, Edgar Narvaez of Patchogue, who was fishing along the bulkhead on the east side of the Shinnecock Canal, spotted the grenade, which still had its pin attached, submerged in shallow water. The device was about 6 feet from the eastern shore of the canal, just north of the Montauk Highway overpass. Mr. Narvaez then notified the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol unit about the grenade.

The sheriff’s office then shut down the canal and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard, the New York State Police and Southampton Town Police to help evacuate those in the immediate area. In addition to Tide Runners, authorities had to evacuate those at a nearby marina from 9:30 to 10 p.m.

The canal was closed to boat traffic from 5 to 10:45 p.m., and Montauk Highway was closed for about half an hour, from 9:30 until 10 p.m.

Noting that the grenade had to be detonated, Chief Sharkey said investigators were forced to blow up their main piece of evidence. He explained that deputies from the sheriff’s office were at the scene last Thursday morning collecting evidence and continuing their investigation.

Gina Abatangelo, a hostess at Tide Runners who was working last Wednesday night, noted that employees initially learned about the hand grenade at around 5 p.m. She explained that her boss, Mr. Ryan, received a call from a friend on a boat who told him that the canal was closed at the Montauk Highway overpass.

At around 8:30 p.m., police informed Mr. Ryan that the 80 customers in his restaurant would have to be evacuated within the next 30 minutes. The order came down about an hour later, at 9:30 p.m. The restaurant did not reopen that evening.

Michelle Cordiello, a server at Tide Runners, said most of the customers were understanding of the unique situation. “People weren’t scared,” she said. “And the staff here always has fun with everything.”

Mr. Ryan noted that one table of customers gave him “lip” when they were told to evacuate. “They said, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t have seated us if you had to rush us,’” he said.