The driver of a stolen vehicle tossed a live grenade on the street while leading California Highway Patrol on a pursuit Friday afternoon, police said.
The suspect threw the grenade, which was covered in a paper bag, out the car’s window near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Rose Street, CHP Sergeant Andrew Barclay said.
CHP officers spotted the stolen vehicle around 3:30 p.m. at Cerrito Avenue and 38th Street. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled and a chase ensued. The pursuit ended about 15 minutes later, shortly after the driver dropped the grenade. He has been taken into custody.
Police from UC Berkeley, along with CHP and the Berkeley Police Department, assessed the grenade and concluded that it was “real and live.”
“Officers immediately closed traffic at that location and began evacuating people from the area,” Barclay said.
The university’s bomb team took possession of the device. The scene was deemed safe just after 5 p.m.