Artillery shell found on lot

Bomb unit removes old item

COHOES, N.Y. » Officials from the state police Bomb Disposal Unit were called to downtown Cohoes on Friday morning to remove an old artillery shell.

The shell was found on a vacant lot that was hit by the massive fire last November.

Mayor Shawn Morse said workers from the city’s Department of Public Works discovered the shell while clearing fire debris from months ago.

“They were cleaning up some fire debris and somebody found some type of possible explosive device that was from back in the World War II era,” said Morse. “Chances are that it was just a remnant of something, but not knowing for sure our police department contacted the state police.”

New York State Police Troop G Public Information Officer Mark Cepiel confirmed the bomb disposal unit was called in around 9:30 a.m. Friday morning after receiving a request from the Cohoes Police Department.

“We were successful in removing what was asked of us,” said Cepiel on Friday afternoon.

Morse said that city officials shut down part of Remsen Street for about 30 minutes Friday morning, with a few nearby businesses also being closed down during that time for precautionary reasons.

“From our stand point, if you don’t know you take all the precautions, but nobody has come back and said it’s an explosive or non- explosive,” said Morse. “It looked like a remnant of maybe something that you would have as a souvenir.”

On Nov. 30, numerous fire departments responded to a massive blaze that started on Remsen Street and eventually spread and destroyed roughly 30 downtown buildings, and over a dozen residents were displaced from their homes after the fire.

John Gomes, 51, of 228 Remsen Street, was charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor arson shortly after the blaze occurred. Officials said they believe Gomes was trying to imitate the History Channel television series “Forged in Fire” prior to the blaze happening.