Bomb squad sweeping Charles River in Needham after discovery of 2 explosives

NEEDHAM, Mass. — A bomb squad is sweeping the Charles River in Needham on Monday after a pair of explosives were pulled from the water in recent days, officials said.

Troopers assigned to the Massachusetts State Police marine and bomb squad units are assisting Needham officers with a “precautionary sweep” of the river in the area of Kendrick Street, according to the Needham Police Department.

“We are asking for the walking public to avoid the area and not congregate due to the large volume of traffic that travels down Kendrick Street,” the department said in a post on Facebook. “Detail officers will be in place. There is otherwise no risk to the public at this time.”

If crews discover a third ordnance, officers will work with the state police bomb squad “to determine appropriate disposal of the item in the safest manner possible,” police added.

Needham Police provided an update around 1:30 p.m., saying in part that besides a few miscellaneous items, no other ordinances were found near the Kendrick Street Bridge.

A magnet fisherman pulled an explosive device out of the river near the Kendrick Street bridge on Friday, March 1.

Police said the military projectile may be from World War I or II.

When the device was disposed of, the detonation could be heard loud and clear from a great distance.

Then again last week, a magnet fisherman pulled a heavily deteriorated bazooka round from the river near Kendrick Street.

The bazooka round was taken to the Needham Dog Park in the Ridge Hill Reservation and safely detonated.

Police noted that the bazooka round may date back to World War II.

Investigators are working to determine how the ordnances ended up in the river.

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