An inert grenade was reportedly found in the back seat of an Uber car in Times Square on Saturday during an anti-Israel demonstration, according to The New York Post.
Police sources claim a Uber driver noticed a grenade in the back seat of his Nissan Altima after dropping off a customer near 42nd Street and 7th Avenue. However, as a a bomb squad tried to reach the spot, a mob of demonstrators encircled police cars in Times Square, as shown by a video published by NYPD on social media.
Eventually, police were able to block off both vehicular and pedestrian traffic on 42nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues and create a security perimeter around the automobile that was carrying the grenade.
A number of demonstrators who were walking up to Midtown Manhattan as part of the Millions March for Palestine were detained, according to police.
“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,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry wrote in a social media post.
“They will be spending their Saturday where they belong – in jail!” he added.
