Belmont Bomber Still at Large

Cops Still Looking for Suspect in Belmont Explosion

NYPD detectives outside of 2463 Hughes Avenue after an explosion was reported outside of an apartment building on August 30.Police say no injuries were reported. -Photo by David Greene

By David Greene 

Bronx Voice 

September 9, 2024 

Follow @Bronxvoice1

BRONX - Police are looking for an individual who set off an explosive device in front of a residential building in Belmont. No injuries were reported.

According to a source at the NYPD, police officers from the 48^th Precinct were called to a four-story building on Hughes Avenue, between East 188 and East 189 Street, at 10:32 a.m. on August 30.

That source told the Bronx Voice, “Police responded to a 911 call for an explosion in front of 2463 Hughes Avenue.” He continued, “Upon arrival, police observed a door and a window at the location with damage from the explosion.”

The police source added, “No injuries were reported as a result of this incident. There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.”

The police source was unable to provide a description of the suspect, but officers communicating over the police radio band at the time of the incident, described the suspect as a male, dressed in black who fled on a red scooter.

A patrol car blocked vehicular traffic at East 188 Street and crime scene tape roped off the building for about five hours as detectives conducted their investigation.

One female resident of the block recalled, “I heard the boom this morning, yeah… wow. Like a boom, really loud.” Asked if it was like a firecracker, she replied, “No, louder than that.”

A man working at the Tavarez Deli at the corner of East 188 Street and Hughes Avenue, said of the blast, “I didn’t see it because I was in the basement, but I heard it.”

One former resident of the building was asked if he was surprised by the incident, he responded, “Ahh, yeah sort of. I mean it’s Little Italy in the Bronx, so yeah, that’s strange. Very strange.”