A guy has been prosecuted after authorities discovered a grenade tied to a utility pole near a Jewish school in November.
The device was discovered on Nov. 19 at the intersection of 4th Street and Forest Avenue, prompting the State Police Bomb Unit to respond, according to police Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith. The grenade was determined to be inert.
The discovery of a grenade in their neighborhood outraged the Jewish Orthodox inhabitants. Lakewood has one of the state’s greatest Jewish populations, according to the 2020 United States Census Bureau.
The Satmar Shul Lakewood is situated behind an apartment complex near the crossroads.
Intended to prevent a poster from being deleted
According to Staffordsmith, Benjamin Gibber, 29, of Lakewood, placed the grenade on the pole with the intention of “preventing someone from removing a poster designed to raise awareness of specific events occurring in the Israel-Hamas war.” He did not reveal the contents of the message.
Gibber was charged with causing a false public alarm.