Possible explosive device hurled near Bush
President, unhurt, didn’t know of incident during Georgia speech
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 7:58 p.m. ET May 10, 2005
TBILISI, Georgia - The Secret Service was investigating a report Tuesday that a hand grenade was thrown at the stage during President Bush's speech in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
It was the only incident to mar what had otherwise been a triumphal appearance by the president in the former Soviet republic, where he said that Georgia had proven to the world that determined people can rise up and claim their freedom from oppressive rulers.
After Bush left Georgia on Tuesday, the Secret Service was informed by Georgian authorities of a report that a device, possibly a hand grenade, had been thrown within 100 feet of the stage during Bush's speech, hit someone in the crowd and fell to the ground, Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry said.
According to the report, a Georgian security officer picked up the device and removed it from the area. The Secret Service had not seen the device as of Tuesday evening, Cherry said. It has agents in Tbilisi working with the FBI, State Department and Georgian authorities to investigate the report.
Georgian government denies incident
Guram Donadze, spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry, said no hand grenade was thrown close to Bush. “This is an absolute lie. This did not occur,” Donadze told The Associated Press.
The Secret Service said it could not independently confirm whether a device was thrown at the president and whether it was a real hand grenade or a fake. It said it was investigating the incident, along with the FBI, the State Department and Georgian authorities.
"After the president departed the country of Georgia, we were notified by host-country authorities that during the president's speech earlier in the day in Tbilisi, a device described as a possible hand grenade was thrown within 100 feet of the stage," said Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin.
Georgian authorities told the Secret Service that the device hit someone in the crowd and fell to the ground. It did not detonate.
Officials from President Maikhail Saakashvili's office were not immediately available for comment. Georgia's security service has been merged with the Interior Ministry.
Cherry said he couldn't characterize the source of the report that a device had been thrown.
Bush was returning to the United States late Tuesday after a four-country trip that also included stops in Russia, Latvia and the Netherlands. He was the first American president to visit Georgia.
