A pair of bickering cousins were busted with a “potentially” explosive device and a machete outside a Manhattan police station Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
The dueling duo stopped in front of the 25th Precinct in East Harlem, where just before noon the driver told nearby officers he was whacked in the head by his machete-wielding cousin who was also inside the car, said NYPD Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson.
Police initially arrested the cousin in the passenger’s seat before the driver told cops an “explosive device” was in the car, Stephenson said — leading to an evacuation of the precinct on East 119th Street near Lexington Avenue and a massive response from the Bomb Squad and Emergency Services Unit.
The unknown device was then found and secured, Stephenson told reporters at the scene.
Commanding Officer of the Bomb Squad Mark Torre called it a “potentially viable improvised explosive device.”
“It will be definitively described as either capable of functioning as designed, capable of exploding, or was it something made to look like a bomb but isn’t really a bomb?” Torre said.
Torre told reporters investigators are testing the device.
Meanwhile, both of the cousins have between 10-20 prior arrests, according to cops.
Deputy Chief Jason Huerta of the NYPD’s Counter Terrorism Division said the owner of the device has “emotional issues” and “seems to be rambling on about incoherent ideas and paranoias.”
“And we don’t have any reason to believe that he was headed anywhere specifically,” he added.
At least one of the cousins was taken into custody. Police did not immediately announce any charges.
