A man tossed a live grenade from a stolen car during a police pursuit through Berkeley before ultimately being taken into custody, authorities said.
The bizarre and dangerous chase unfolded on May 2, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers assigned to the CHP’s Golden Gate Division’s Crime Suppression Team spotted a car that had been reported stolen driving in Oakland about 3:30 p.m. and tried to pull it over, the agency said in a written statement.
The pursuit continued at slow speeds into Berkeley, where the driver was seen tossing a bag from the vehicle in the area of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Rose Street, about a mile from UC Berkeley, NBC Bay Area reported.
“A nearby CHP officer, not involved in the pursuit, stopped to secure the bag and discovered a grenade inside with the safety pin partially removed,” according to the CHP statement. The area was evacuated.
A bomb squad from the UC Berkeley Police Department responded to the scene and rendered the grenade, which was inside a plastic sandwich bag and found to be “live and capable of detonation,” safe, officials said.
The driver continued fleeing until he drove into a residential cul-de-sac, abandoned the car and ran, according to the CHP. Officers chased him down on foot and took him into custody.
Officials searched the car and confirmed there were no additional explosives inside.
The bomb squad, with assistance from the FBI, also searched the suspect’s home in Berkeley to check it for explosives, CHP officials said. None were found.
The suspect, reportedly described as a 28-year-old Berkeley man, was booked on suspicion of crimes including transportation of a destructive device, possession of a stolen vehicle, and resisting arrest, authorities added.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Neighborhood evacuated after man tosses live grenade from car during pursuit through Berkeley
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
