Two hand grenades belonging to an assisted living resident in New York caused a scare Friday afternoon when they were discovered by staff members who reported them to the local police.
Residents of Tappan Zee Manor in Nyack, NY, were evacuated after the Clarkstown Police Department received a report of the suspicious devices, which were located inside community. Residents were kept calm; they were told that the community was conducting an evacuation drill, a spokeswoman for the senior living community told McKnight’s Senior Living. The weather cooperated, with a temperature of 72 degrees, she said.
“An extensive search of the building was conducted, and one training hand grenade and one metal hand grenade were found in the refrigerator of a 91-year-old male resident who is currently out of the facility for medical treatment,” according to a press release from the police department.
The resident is a veteran of World War II who has a collection of items, the spokeswoman for the senior living community said. The police department was called as a precaution, she added.
Officers also searched the man’s vehicle but did not find additional devices there.
The Rockland County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad removed and X-rayed the two grenades, which police said appeared to be from the era of World War II. They were inert.
Residents were returned to the community within three hours.
The New York State Police, the New York State Park Police, the West Nyack Fire Department and the Central Nyack Fire Department also were involved in the response.
