Bomb that forced evacuation of NYPD precinct was a 'low impact' explosive device, police said

Oct 26, 2024

The explosive device that forced cops to evacuate an East Harlem police precinct on Wednesday afternoon was a crude device with “a low explosive powder impact,” officials said Thursday.

The device was found in a car outside the 25th Precinct stationhouse shortly before noon after cops responded to a dispute between two bumbling cousins — who admitted they had a bomb, police said.

Police called in the bomb squad and evacuated the East 119th Street precinct as a precaution.

At a briefing Thursday, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard called the device “a low incendiary device” that could cause harm, “but not mass casualties.

“So, what it means is that we’re not classifying it as a bomb, but the powder that they were using is capable of causing harm,” Sheppard said. “It’s more like powder that you’ll find in fireworks.”

Chontrell Wrenick, 50, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and assault with intent to physically injure with a weapon.

The assault charge stems from Wrenick’s alleged attack on his cousin with a machete — the scuffle that got cops involved in the incident in the first place, the department said.

The battling kin pulled up outside the precinct, with the pair cursing each other out and the alleged victim reporting the supposed assault by his cousin to cops.

That’s when the victim allegedly told police there was an “explosive device” inside the car.

“While they were in that vehicle, [Wrenick] pulls out this device and he also has a machete in the car with him,” Sheppard said. “At some point there was some sort of dispute in the car, where the cousin is hit with the machete causing an injury to him.”

He said that’s when the injured cousin drove to the precinct, jumped out and yelled, “Hey, I was assaulted and he’s also got a device in the car.”

Sheppard said cops believe Wrenick was “probably someone just experiencing mental health issues” based on his social media posts.

“We don’t think at this time that he’s somebody that should have been on some sort of watch list or anything like that,” he added.

Meanwhile, both cousins have lengthy rap sheets, including for drugs and grand larceny.