Aquebogue Man Charged with Threatening Jews in NYC
A North Fork man was one of two allegedly armed suspects arrested November 19 at Penn Station who New York City authorities said planned to harm members of the Jewish community.
Christopher Brown, 22, of Aquebogue, had been wanted for making terroristic threats against synagogues and allegedly “has a history of mental illness and has recently expressed interest in traveling to NYC to purchase a firearm,” according to an NYPD intelligence alert. The second suspect was identified as Matthew Mahrer.
“The NYPD’s exhaustive intelligence-gathering led to the arrest by sharp-eyed MTA police officers of two individuals entering Penn Station, in Manhattan, and the seizures of a large hunting knife, an illegal Glock 17 firearm and 30-round magazine, and several other items,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.
MTA arrested the pair and turned them over to the NYPD and the FBI, officials said.
Brown faces charges of making terroristic threats and criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered held without bail. Mahrer, 22, of Manhattan, meanwhile, was booked on weapons possession charges; his connection to Brown remains under investigation.
Meanwhile, Sewell noted that the NYPD has “strategically” deployed “assets at sensitive locations throughout New York City” as an additional precaution.
“And I join all New Yorkers today in expressing my gratitude and pride for the ever-vigilant work of our NYPD women and men — who remain on-guard around-the-clock and every day to protect the peace and ensure no violence can ever come to the city and its people,” the commissioner added.
-Via amNewYork Metro