The Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing at Hancock Field, N.Y. (Stephen D. Cannerelli, syracuse.com/TNS)
DEWITT, N.Y. (Tribune News Service) — Hancock Field went under lockdown and part of a road was closed Tuesday after someone dropped off a rocket at the base’s main gate that guards feared might be an explosive.
The device was later determined to be a nonexplosive rocket, said Major Jean Marie-Kratzer, command information officer for the New York National Guard.
Hancock Field is the military side of Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport. It is home of New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing.
The device, dropped off by a person around 11:30 a.m., appeared to be old military equipment, which concerned security at the base, said Eric Durr, public affairs director for the New York National Guard.
The base issued a shelter-in-place order as a precaution at 12:30 p.m., Marie-Kratzer said. East Molloy Road was also closed off by DeWitt police and the 174th Attack Wing crisis action team was alerted.
The Fort Drum explosive team was brought in around 3 p.m. and labeled the device as a nonexplosive rocket, lifting the shelter in place by 3:20 p.m., she said.
The National Guard did not say if they are investigating the person who dropped off the rocket. The person was possibly trying to get rid of the old equipment, Durr said.
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