Picatinny Arsenal area is blocked off?

My source for this is the DSL delivery man, can someone with a scanner confirm? He said the area is closed off while the Federal Government investigates a dirty bomb planted there.

hktownie hktownie
Apr '15

From NJ.com:

A possible explosive threat at the entrance of Picatinny Arsenal prompted the evacuation of employees from the base Friday.

At about 11:30 a.m., a driver tried to gain access to the Picatinny Arsenal through the post's truck gate when security personnel noticed something suspicious within the vehicle, Picatinny Arsenal spokesman Ed Lopez said.

Authorities are treating the situation as if it was an explosive threat, and the installation has been coordinating with local, state and federal agencies, he said.

Employees were instructed to leave the post at 1:44 p.m., he said.

Entrance on the post has temporarily halted, and personnel are working to return the area to safe traveling conditions, Lopez said.

As of 1:20 p.m., Route 15 between Route 80 and Berkshire Valley Road was closed due an ongoing investigation, township police said in a Nixle alert.

The eastbound and westbound ramps for Route 80 to Route 15 north were also closed as of 1:42 p.m., according to the state Department of Transportation. The DOT also reported delays of 20 to 25 minutes in the area.

Motorists should plan an alternative route to avoid the area, police said.

Clyde Potts Clyde Potts
Apr '15

My son n law has been stuck in is his car - on line - to get out since 1:30!!!


Kept hearing on radio that Rt 15 was closed, but they didn't say why. Just police activity. This explains a lot. Thanks Clyde!

botheredbyuu2 botheredbyuu2
Apr '15

According to this, they have a person in custody and are evacuating people within a 5-mile radius...

http://cliffviewpilot.com/one-arrested-picatinny-arsenal-evacuated-roads-closed-following-possible-bomb-discovery/

ianimal ianimal
Apr '15

Looks like another horrific Friday afternoon commute. Drive safely, everyone.

Tracy Tracy
Apr '15

Crap, my friend's nephew works there.

Blackcat Blackcat
Apr '15

Know a few people who work there. Hope all is OK. Sounds like it was taken care of and nothing bad happened.

botheredbyuu2 botheredbyuu2
Apr '15

Having a horrific commute is the least of their worries right now.

Nosila Nosila
Apr '15

There's probably a good 10 people on HL that work there, plus I'm sure there are others in my neighborhood not on HL.


on the news now - false alarm - but traffic is still awful -

5catmom 5catmom
Apr '15

Sounds like it is under control and they are reopening roadways but it is going to be a LONG night for anyone on 80. The pictures showed it stopped past Parsippany.


DH glad he had the day off. LOL!

Yea, the news showing all the way backed up past Parsippany. Jefferson Twsp police opening Rt 15. That will help.

botheredbyuu2 botheredbyuu2
Apr '15

Just driving by, 80 is wide open.

kb2755 kb2755
Apr '15

Long ride home but very glad it was nothing serious.

Bessie Bessie
Apr '15

Does anyone know what the "device" that was taken was?

Darrin Darrin
Apr '15

Darrin - There might not even be a "device". The only place saying there was something really there was a blogger site.


news says false alarm - no problem there

5catmom 5catmom
Apr '15

I heard on the radio that the actual car driven in was considered suspicious. Glad it turned out to be nothing but an inconvenience. Better safe than sorry.

I didn't even bother with 80. I didn't have the energy to deal with it today. I made it home in 1 hour taking the scenic route through Morristown, Mendham, Chester, etc. It was a nice day for a drive with the top off the Jeep.

Tracy Tracy
Apr '15

Glad it was my SDO.
Turns out it was a guy with an expired driver's license or something.
Wow.

Reggie Voter Reggie Voter
Apr '15

All that mayhem for a guy with a expired license? That was suspicious? Really? SMH!

botheredbyuu2 botheredbyuu2
Apr '15

Highly doubt they would evacuate entire base, shut down Rt. 80 exits as well as airspace just over an expired license where did you get that info RV?

luvlife
Apr '15

You guys always doubt me, yet I have never been wrong.

Reggie Voter Reggie Voter
Apr '15

there were WMD readiness drills at fort dix scheduled yesterday, could there be a possible tie-in?

put out the alert for potential dirty bomb, conduct your readiness drill, then put out a 'false alarm' type of statement about expired drivers license.

reggie may be onto something, this doesn't pass the smell test:


LAKEHURST, N.J. (AP) — Nearly 600 Army and Air National Guard forces from New Jersey and New York are preparing for the worst.

They are participating in a homeland response force drill at New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on Friday.

The troops specialize in rescue, security, decontamination and medical treatment.

The units will train to rapidly assess and identify a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incident.

http://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/nearly-troops-participate-in-homeland-response-drill/article_f7cd6dff-d68a-514b-a121-c4b22506643e.html

BrotherDog BrotherDog
Apr '15

So do tell RV. Honestly expired license or not I rather they err on the side of caution. Same people complaining are the first ones to point fingers God forbid they let someone on and they blew up a bomb. I still say they suspected a lot more and not just an expired license - that's probably a weekly if not daily occurrence for the guards. SMH!

luvlife
Apr '15

My guess it was part of a surprise drill..they are doing these things all over the country

Brad2
Apr '15

It's just life in the whole world today with so much hate, that cant be legislated out of existence. Every one is up tight over terrorism.

Old Gent Old Gent
Apr '15

"My guess it was part of a surprise drill..they are doing these things all over the country"

Why would the military want to do a "surprise" drill that resulted in local chaos? What would be the point? Personally I think it's the same reason why it's popular today to think that moving toward total control would be a good thing if it could be viewed as preventing bad things from ever happening.

As a society we seem to be losing the perspective that life inherently is full of risk. Taken further, it's also popular today to think that all risk can be eliminated from our daily lives. Not sure that Darwin (Charles) would agree with that, or Mother Nature for that matter.

justintime justintime
Apr '15

Dont you think "local chaos" is overstating your case a bit?

Gadfly Gadfly
Apr '15

+1 Justintime Do you think that could be part of a plan?

Old Gent Old Gent
Apr '15

Definition #2 Gadfly: any confused, disorderly mass

But OK, chaos probably isn't the right word. Still, I think you understand the point.

justintime justintime
Apr '15

http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2015/04/picatinny_bomb_scare_suspect_a_czech_citizen_facin_1.html#incart_river

Old Gent Old Gent
Apr '15

justintime--I guess you don't like fire drills either

Brad2
Apr '15

Fire drills are usually announced ahead of time - that's why they call them "drills", so that the people involved know what to do in case of a real emergency. Not sure why you'd think they'd be related to a "terror" threat on a military complex.

justintime justintime
Apr '15

Did any of you read old gent's link? There is a possible deportation in this incident, I don't think it was a drill.

Fire drills are usually announced? Was not aware this was still the practice in some places.


The link implies that the deportation is coincidental and not related to the incident. I think more information is needed to understand the severity of the situation. I can't imagine evacuating a military complex due to ICE non compliance wouldn't be a severe case of overkill.

justintime justintime
Apr '15

JIT - Fire drills are not announced ahead of time in a lot of place. Schools for instant. I worked for a company 25+ years ago and they had a fire drill and evacuated the building. No one knew what was going on.

I think others on here are right. It was probably a drill at Picatinny.

botheredbyuu2 botheredbyuu2
Apr '15

It was not a drill. Although I think they should do drills for this type of situation. Below is a link from CBS News from yesterday - I don't think we'll ever get all the details as to what exactly transpired but I firmly believe it wasn't a drill.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/20/czech-national-held-after-security-breach-at-picatinny-arsenal-in-new-jersey/

luvlife
Apr '15

NJ SW - Just curious who or what is "TAP" into Roxbury?

luvlife
Apr '15

Looks like local news.

Here is the original article...

http://tapinto.net/towns/roxbury/categories/news/articles/sagging-trunk-suspicious-wires-cans-of-fuel-bi

NJSkyWatcher NJSkyWatcher
Apr '15

Looks like news but isn't = blogger site. A lot tries to pass itself off as legit these days.


Thanks NJ SW - Looks similar to "Patch.com" for Hackettstown, Long Valley , etc. Appreciate your reply.

luvlife
Apr '15

Glad everything worked out and it was only a false alarm. However, I've heard some interesting stuff about that place. Lots and time and attendance issues that get ignored, many workers that simply have very little to do (some spend their days surfing the net),etc. Sounds crazy, but I guess its no different than most large government organizations.

ScreamingButterfly ScreamingButterfly
May '15

I'm not one to respond to gossip and dirty laundry but in this instance I must:

Did you know that 34 of the 90 top Army inventions between 2002 and 2011 were developed by the web surfers and time and attendance abusers who work at Picatinny Arsenal?

Did you know that more than 90 percent of the conventional armaments (weapons and ammunition) that America's soldiers carry into battle today were developed by the same problem employees?

Did you know that three Time Magazine Top Fifty Inventions of the Year (over the past ten years) were developed by Picatinny scientists and engineers?

Did you know that during the past decade, Picatinny Arsenal's troubled employees have put several hundred new items in the hands of soldiers that have helped protect and save their lives?

Did you know that one of the features of the new Russian Army combat rifle, the AK-12 (the successor to the most widely used rifle in the world, the AK-47) is equipped with a device called the "Picatinny Rail?" Guess where that was invented?

I could go on but I've made my point. There are many more dedicated, hard-working employees at Picatinny Arsenal (and other large organizations and companies) than there are problem workers. And their achievements prove it.


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