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Suspect surrenders after tossing fake bomb into police van in Manhattan

SUV where man barricaded himself after bomb scare

By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York man accused of tossing a fake bomb into a police van in Times Square and later barricading himself inside a vehicle in an hours-long standoff was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation on Thursday after surrendering to police.

Hector Meneses, 52, gave up at about 8 a.m. after forcing police to shut down Columbus Circle, a busy shopping area and major traffic circle north of Times Square, through the morning rush hour, a New York Police Department spokesman said.

Meneses, who wore a red plastic helmet and was from the borough of Queens, was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, police said.

He was accused of lobbing a makeshift device into a police van in tourist-packed Times Square at about 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday and then fleeing in a gold-colored SUV.

At about 2 a.m., police spotted his vehicle in the Columbus Circle area, which is packed with high-end retail stores. The man barricaded himself inside and said he had explosives inside the car.

Police from a hostage team negotiated with him for about six hours, New York Police Chief of Department James O’Neill told reporters.

Police said in a statement that no explosives were found. Meneses is accused of first-degree reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, first-degree false reporting of an incident and other charges, the statement said.

Immediately after the device was tossed into the van, a sergeant and an officer drove from the crowded area, then inspected the package. It contained a candle, cylindrical object and an electronic device with a flashing light wrapped in white cloth, police said.

“I was nervous, he was nervous,” Sergeant Hameed Armani said as he and Officer Peter Cybulski spoke to reporters. “I said, ‘If it happens, it happens, but I’m not going to stop here.'”

The bomb squad determined the device was a hoax.

(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Peter Cooney)

NYPD On High Alert After ISIS Calls For Attacks

The New York City Police Department, already on alert because of the murder of officers by black residents over the Eric Garner situation, is on highest alert because of threats from Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

ISIS has called for Muslims within America to “strike police” and after last week’s Paris terror attacks officials are seriously considering the threat.

“Do not let the battle pass you by wherever you may be,” ISIS spokesman Abu Mohamad Al-Adnani declared in an online video. “Strike their police, security and intelligence members, as well as their treacherous agents. [For those] who don’t have an improvised explosive device or a bullet, [you] can smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car.”

The NYPD’s deputy commissioner for counterterrorism told CBS’s “Face The Nation” that the announcement was a renewal of a call ISIS made in September for attacks on police.

The NYPD sent an e-mail memo to all police.

“If you are assigned to a fixed post, do not sit together in the RMP [police car],” the e-mail, obtained by The New York Post, read. “At least one officer must stand outside the vehicle at all times. Pay attention to your surroundings. Officers must pay close attention to approaching vehicles . . . Pay close attention to people as they approach. Look for their hands.”

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said that the ISIS cyber attacks and threats are “severely disturbing.”

NYPD Finds Arsenal After Capturing Man Who Talked Of Killing Police

A Queens, New York man was arrested after he was overheard talking about killing police. A witness called the NYPD after hearing 38-year-old Elvin Payamps talking in a TD Bank line about having guns at his house to commit the crime.

“I’m going to kill another cop. We should do it before Christmas. The cop should have been white that was killed. I always have a gun on me,” the witness said Payamps told a friend on a phone call.

The witness called 911 but Payamps left before police arrived at the bank. He was found getting into a car near the bank. After finding marijuana in the car, he was arrested.

“They should have killed two white cops instead of the Hispanic and Asian if the guy really wanted to send a message,” Payamps allegedly told police after his arrest.

At Payamps home, officers found a 9mm pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun with serial numbers scratched off them. He also had two bulletproof vests and a set of brass knuckles.

He is being held on $500,000 bail.

Police praised the witness for reporting the threat. They called on all New Yorkers to take seriously anyone who talks about killing police officers in the wake of the murder of two officers by someone seeking retribution for Eric Garner and the events of Ferguson, MO.

Murderer Of NYPD Officers Arrested Mutliple Times

The man who ambushed and killed two New York Police officers has been arrested several times for petty crimes and has been described as “violent and suicidal.”

28-year old Ismaaiyl Brainsley also spent two years in prison for firing a stolen gun near a public street in Georgia.

New York Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told NBC that they had discovered the gunman had tried to commit suicide last year. The mother of the gunman’s ex-girlfriend, who he shot after an argument Saturday morning, told the NYPD that she had been afraid of him.

Friends of the gunman have been telling media that he was a peaceful, “God-fearing” man and they were shocked to hear he had committed the crime.

“This would’ve never crossed my mind for him to do something like this,” friend Jay Romero told the New York Daily News. “It brought tears to my eyes. No human has the right to take any human’s life, that’s wrong. What he did is a cowardly move. I don’t know what he went through, what was on his mind.”

NYPD Officers Ambushed By Protester

A man who was protesting and seeking revenge for Michael Brown and Eric Garner ambushed two police officers in their cruiser on Saturday, shooting them before killing himself after he was trapped in a subway.

Ismaaiyl Abdulla Brinsley walked up from behind the cruiser containing Officers Wenjin Liu and Raphael Ramos, dropped into a shooting stance at the passenger side window and opened fire. The officers did not even have time to pull their weapons before they were fatally struck.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told reporters at a press conference that the gunman had shot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore in the morning before driving to New York.

Brinsley had posted online that he was going to be “putting wings on pigs” today. He added “They take 1 of ours. Let’s take 2 of theirs. #ShootThePolice #RIPEricGardner #RIPMikeBrown”

His last post said “This may be my final post. I’m putting pigs in a blanket.”

Baltimore police were alerted by the ex-girlfriend’s mother of the murderer’s intentions but the message did not reach the NYPD until after the killing.

Israeli Student Attacked In New York Synagogue

An Israeli rabbinical student is in critical condition at a New York hospital after a man yelling “kill the Jews” attacked him in a Brooklyn synagogue.

“Levi had his hands up, trying to block the individual with his arms,” Mendy Notik, 22, told the New York Daily News. “He was saying. ‘I will kill you.’ And after Levi, he went towards another young student and he said ‘I will kill the Jews!'”

Peters was approached by members of the NYPD who told him to put down his knife. Initially, Peters put down the knife and before he picked it up again and charged toward officer Roberto Pagan. Pagan shot Peters in the stomach.

Rosenblat, 22, was rushed to trauma unit at Kings County Hospital and initially reported in stable condition before it was revealed he was transferred to Bellevue Hospital where he was in critical condition with bleeding on the brain according to police sources.

NYPD officials were quick to dismiss the attack as an act of terrorism, saying that the attacker was only mentally ill.

“We are very, very confident it’s not a terrorist-related act at this stage,” Bratton said. “There’s no indication that the subject … had any affiliation with any terrorist organization.”

Evan Bernstein, New York director of the Anti Defamation League, told USA Headline News that anti-Semitism has been on the rise around the world.

“We have definitely seen a surge in global anti-Semitism really since Operation Protective Edge, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,” Bernstein said. “We’ve seen a dramatic uptick, especially in Europe, where instances over previous years is incredibly high.”

The NYPD announced they will have a greater security presence around synagogues with Hanukkah approaching next week.

Knockout Game Back; Pregnant Woman Assaulted

NYPD has told reporters that the knockout game is back in the city.

A 34-year-old Brooklyn woman who is six months pregnant was struck in the back of the head while walking down a sidewalk with her sister. The pregnant woman was immediately rendered unconscious and fell to the ground. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured and her child was not hurt.

Willie Stephens, 33, has been arrested for the attack.

Police say that Jannatul Ferdous’ sister immediately called 911 after the attack and gave such a strong description that Stephens was quickly found three blocks away. Police say it’s strange that Stephens would make such an attack because he had no criminal record.

Stephens reportedly did not know his victim.

Drugs Take Life Of Oscar Winning Actor

Heroin has ended the life of an Oscar winning actor.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, was found dead in a New York apartment Sunday morning. NYPD officials said that Hoffman’s body was found with a needle still sticking in his arm.

A police source told Fox News that they are investigating to see if Hoffman was the victim of a series of spiked heroin that has been killing addicts throughout the northeast. Police officials had issued warnings last week of the heroin that was laced with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

The Maryland state medical examiner said Thursday that the tainted heroin could cause a user to lose consciousness in less than 20 seconds.

Hoffman had a history of substance abuse and had attended rehab multiple times.

Police say they found the body after checking on him when he failed to pick up his three children for visitation.

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