Threat to NYC Jewish Community Stopped With Two Men Arrested at Penn Station
CLOSE CALL
Police arrested the two men at Penn Station on suspicion of a “developing threat” to New York City’s Jewish community, armed with a gun and large hunting knife.
Two armed men were arrested at Penn Station in New York City Saturday morning on suspicion of a “developing threat” to the city’s Jewish community, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement. Authorities had been investigating a 21-year-old man from Suffolk County, New York who made a series of increasingly concerning statements about attacking a synagogue in New York City, sources told ABC News. He was reportedly spotted at Penn Station, police saying they seized “a large hunting knife, an illegal Glock 17 firearm and a 30-round magazine” among other items from the attempted assailants. Christopher Brown, 21, has been charged with making a terroristic threat, aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, while Matthew Mahrer, 22, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Police discovered the imminent threat Friday, they said, working with state and federal officials to identify the people behind it. Police haven’t released further details on what the men had planned, but ABC News reported their threat hadn’t involved a specific synagogue.
