Police confronted a man inside a post office on 104th street Thursday night after at least one person called 911. Our tipster shot the photos above and below, but did not stick around to see how the situation played out: “I got the hell outta dodge.” She wrote:
“Tonight I was at Cathedral Station Post Office, located 104th (Broadway & Amsterdam) when a man entered carrying a shotgun. After alerting the postal staff behind the counter, police arrived at the seen. Man was not aggressive, but was exhibiting odd behavior. At this point – I got the hell outta dodge. It was a VERY terrifying experience.”
Asked to elaborate on the “odd behavior,” she wrote:
“He was pacing back and forth, keeping the gun pressed against the back of his leg. He had a sly creepy grin even whilst police arrived. It was terribly frightening and in my opinion the postal staff behind the glass didn’t seem to provide much guidance or help to customers, as they were running around in a panic (understandably so)…. But we were all in the open unsure of what was to happen. A few of us stood around he corner at the side kiosk where you pick up undeliverable packages etc .”
Update: An NYPD official tells us the gun was a movie prop: “person had it with him, was not being used at the time and after explaining himself to the officers all parties went about their day.”
We’ve also made an inquiry with the 24th precinct and will update this if we hear back.
If he were white, he probably would’ve been left alone. Sigh.
What an idiotic comment! Did you actually consciously write that? It is outdated, inflammatory–and yes, RACIST to make such a foolish observation. It’s no wonder there is still an enormous gap between the races, with thinking as ignorant as this. You should be ashamed of yourself. Crawl out of your hole and welcome to 2016…I think the world has passed you by without your knowledge…
He actually is white. This article is about a very dear friend of mine.
Why was your dear friend stupid enough to walk around with a prop weapon inside of a U.S. Post Office? NY is not an open carry state. Your friend caused a lot panic and a wast of police resources. I don’t care if he is Black, White or purple.
Nonsense. Besides, he could be white. His skin is very fair.
Allison, did you know there were pictures in the article? Did you look at them? Both? If yes, then, wow…that is CLEARLY a jewfro and white face, neck, and hand skin. Yeah, sigh…
“If he were white, he probably would’ve been left alone. Sigh.”
you must’ve missed this part of the story:
“a man entered carrying a shotgun.”
if he were UNARMED he would’ve been left alone. *bigger sigh*
I know, right? I see white people carrying shotguns on the street ALL the time and no one even bats an eye!
I *do* hope you’re being sarcastic — yes??
are you kidding me? a MAN on the UWS carrying a shot gun IN A POST OFFICE, looking “weird… creepy” pacing back and forth?? black, white, green, yellow – he was a weirdo who could have exploded, with a shot gun.
I think we are beyond looking at the color of his skin if he is a potential threat to me and you.
It’s just so mind boggling that you actually believe that.
No Allison, no. White men in the 2000s with guns are not warmly welcomed. In 1800s yes you’re right or even 1900s. But no Allison, white men with guns nowadays aren’t left alone. No Allison no.
You might want to take that up with the Bundy family in Oregon….
This is New York, not Oregon… you can’t walk around with a gun here, legally… so, no. A white guy also would have been arrested. This is not the wild west.
Oregon is not New York. Doing just about anything with a gun in public is illegal here.
Across the street from me! When did this happen?
We’re working on getting that info. WSR
the situation occured at approximately 5:15 pm on Thursday evening.
idiotic comment sigh
The man doesn’t necessarily need to be white. He is a light skinned male, he could have been of Hispanic, Arab or several other non-white ethnicities. I honest to god doubt that was a factor in this.
That said, This is NYC ffs. Gun laws don’t play and cops don’t play with that shit either. This man would have been confronted either way. Use your brain, it’s there for a reason.
Considering it’s a government building, maybe there should have been a better response from staff, no? Something to consider in the future.
Considering it’s a government institution? Really? When has a USPS employee ever been helpful or efficient?
“…and cops don’t play with that shit either.”
Wait — was there bodily excrement involved too? I didn’t see that in the story.
How did you know about this?
Cato, I hope Scooter Stan didn’t charge you too much for that shotpun comment!
Just another day on the Upper West Side, love this town
Because guns aren’t an issue anywhere else in the country? It’s a NYC thing? Dude, every comment you make lately is about how much you hate it here. You being held against your will or something?
There are two Mark’s that comment on this website. One appeared out of thin air to respond to my liberal point of view, but do not be confused. Baby I love it here, lived here my whole life. Can’t stand the yuppies but love the city. I love it, the city hasn’t been this New York in years, the past 4 years have been great. All that xenophobic quality of life complaining crap, nonsense. This is the best post office in the city, you see more characters there than in a Scorsese or Tarantino flick.
Ah, my bad.
How do you know there are only two Marks here?
I can’t clearly tell from the pics whether the man with the weapon is white, Spanish, fair-skin Black or whether he’s from the moon. I don’t think the color of his skin is what this particular piece is about. I think it’s about the person who was physically there at the post office only to find a man toting a long gun of some kind, who was behaving in a kind of creepy way. The facts are the facts. Man, gun, strange. A million things go through your head while you stand there. Mainly “Is he going to shoot me?” I’m glad the tipster got out quickly and that all ended the way it was supposed to – with police presence. Leave the racist stuff behind OK?
He is white, I know him
since the first photo shows him looking at shipping boxes,maybe he was going to ship the gun
i indeed was trying to ship the gun
Aren’t guns illegal in NYC?
Its fake
Illegal to carry openly like that, yes. Other than that you need a permit. Long gun permits are a little easier to get than handgun permits.
“in my opinion the postal staff behind the glass didn’t seem to provide much guidance or help to customers”
That is SOP at the Cathedral Station PO. Yet another incident that confirms my aversion for this office. I expect that it will close as soon as management figures out that the service there is unsatisfactory.
Cathedral PO is THE worse branch in NYC. I challenge ANYONE to find one worse. I have placed numerous complaints about this branch so I can absolute see how 1 but entered without observation. There are plenty of nuts there.
Agreed. That post office is like the 7th circle of hell. I avoid it at all costs. I’ve read the Yelp reviews and do not understand how it continues to be so horribly bad. I know it’s USPS, but is there really NO way to improve it? It’s the worst post office I’ve ever been to, period.
Have you seen the Yelp review for this branch?
So what did you except the staff to do? Run out and jump the guy? Are you kidding me? Come on, you see a guy with a gun you either run or walk quickly out of the area. Common sense poeple! Just good old common sense.
the staff were actually very nice about the whole issue. they in fact were the first people to make comments/ jokes about my race and afro, and they were nicely spoken when they told me that they couldn’t ship the prop and that i should have wrapped it prior to my arrival. it indeed would have been nice if they had calmed the crowd down; i had no intention of scaring anyone and i had assumed that people would see the staff assisting me and realize everything was fine.
“the postal staff behind the glass didn’t seem to provide much guidance or help to customers”
If that was the case, then they acted pretty much the way they do when you are trying to ship a parcel from that branch.
I think the perp might be Malcolm Gladwell
You’re kidding, right?
It’s not Malcolm Gladwell.
It’s clearly Virgil Starkwell.
(Virgil passes a note to the Postal Clerk)
Postal Clerk #1: Does this look like “gub” or “gun”?
Postal Clerk #2: Gun. See? But what does “abt” mean?
Virgil: It’s “act”. A-C-T. Act natural. Please put fifty thousand dollars into this bag and act natural.
Postal Clerk #1: Oh, I see. This is a holdup?
What a shame that this man’s 2nd amendment rights were violated. If only we could just be more like Texas…
i’m actually very against guns! i would gladly forfeit my rights for the public’s safety.
The knowledge that armed law-abiding citizens are likely to be present in a given location often is a deterrent to thugs. And when armed thugs are not deterred by such knowledge, armed good guys can at least protect the bystanders from the armed bad guy(s).
Evidence? And no, just someone saying it’s true isn’t evidence. Evidence is based in science and mathematics.
And just to let you know – correlation does not equal causation.
Thanks for playing. We have some lovely parting gifts.
@Independent; please watch this excellent clip on armed good guys: https://www.cc.com/video-clips/w2bq3a/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-jordan-klepper–good-guy-with-a-gun-pt–2
Like all of us at the post office, he was probably looking for a pen.
lol
It turns out he was mailing it. It has to be mailed in seperated pieces
i wish i could mail it in multiple pieces, but unfortunately it’s all one piece.
Is it just me, or does he look like he’s wearing tzitzes (fringes from a Jewish prayer shawl) ?
Yeah, a blown-up version of the photo does seem to show tzitzes: https://www.westsiderag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/gun-post-office.jpg
Good catch. Those are tzitzes. Who is this nutter?
it’s me! hello!
Tzitzes — but not a keepah? Weird. And no payos?
How do you know there’s no kippah? There could be one we can’t see.
If you look closely he is wearing a kipa towards top of his head. And payos is just a custom.
It does indeed look like tzitzis, the ritual fringes Orthodox Jews wear under their shirts every day. It also looks like a bad, 99 cent store wig. Notice the second photo, how he is smiling. IMO, this is either one of two things. 1) This is a stupid, selfish millennial who thought he would conduct a social experiment of sorts, and waltz into a post office holding a shot gun and see how people react to him. 2) This is a complete nutjob who belongs in a mental institution. I hope he gets prosecuted to the furthest extent of the law.
They are indeed tzitzis. However, the hair is, in fact, real. i am unsure as to what you meant to add by mentioning the fact that i was smiling.
in response to your first theory – i don’t generally think of myself as stupid; nor do i think that i am particularly selfish. I suppose that I am a millenial, though I was not conducting any form of social experiment (at least not officially), nor do i understand how stupidity and selfishness relate to that prospect.
in response to your second theory – i’ve had psychological evaluations, and i’ve had multiple sessions with counselors and psychiatrists. although “nutjob,” is not a scientifically meaningful term with which someone can be clinically diagnosed, i am relatively positive that all of the above mentioned health professionals would not have used it with regards to myself, nor did they believe that i required institutionalization.
what i find truly problematic and disturbing is your last comment. i can only hope that it was stated external to your second theory – it would be troublesome if you desired for someone who struggled with mental health to be persecuted by the law. even then, though, your comment would still be quite ambiguous and also revelatory of a problematic perception of the use of punishment in law.
this guy “gun-wielding man” is making more sense than so many of the commenters…
Either way they belong in a mental institution.
The amount of crazies in the neighborhood has sky rocketed in the last year.
No they’ve always been here, it’s always been part of the charm of living on Broadway. People are very eccentric on the Upper West Side, even as a more affluent conservatives have assimilated and colonized areas of the neighborhood.
i would like to think that eccentricity extends across all social ranges of affluence!
He IS white! Dumb fool!
Why is he dressed like Samuel L. Jackson?
because the prop gun is actually item 47. (for those who don’t know, this is a reference to the marvel cinematic universe, in which samuel l jackson plays the role of nick fury)
I guess what with how many L&O’s have been filmed on the UWS over the past how many years, this hasn’t happened sooner. I wonder if this is a really low budget film where they don’t keep the props locked up when not in use…or if the film guy was just not thinking. Good that nothing happened and good that people were diligent.
it indeed was a rented prop used in a theater production. i was trying to ship it back to its owners.
“L&Os”? Let me guess — “landlords and owners”?
Lions and ostriches?
Ladies and others?
OK, OK — I give up! What were you thinking of but unable to express??
Olivia Benson rocks.
“Law & Order”
That post office has got to be one of the worst. Dirty, with the most surly, rude staff who clearly take such visible pleasure in being unhelpful. Whenever I’ve been on line with all the other abused customers, the air is thick with anger and frustration. Glad that nothing happened, but not surprised that a man with a gun would be at this particular post office.
i personally find the location to be sufficiently pleasurable and the staff to be perfectly helpful
Guns make long threads.
I did observe that guns are on many minds these days. People even inserted their gun fantasies onto the thread with the subway altercation at 72 Street. I do find it interesting.
A movie prop? A friend makes small indy films and the guns he uses for scenes have to be brightly colored…red or orange specifically so they’re not confused with real weapons. The color is then changed with computer tech in post processing. I’ve been there when police officers walked up and checked that this was being complied with. I don’t get how he could just go about his business after telling the cops it’s just a movie prop. Kids have gotten shot for carrying real looking toy guns.
i myself was confused at first too! i thought it might have simply been a real gun with the barrel screwed shut so it couldnt be loaded. my boss told me otherwise, though.
I am thinking the exact same thing. A movie prop?? Who brings a long gun off a shoot and into a U.S. post office in New York City? That’s crazy.
This guy is lucky he didn’t raise the gun at the police officers. It would have been a different story.
Actually I happen to be his mom. Enjoyed reading some of these comments. It was a school play (not movie) for the record. Kippah not visible in photos with his black fro. He was trying to return the rented prop after play ended but it seems not to be allowed in mail.Kid was looking for a box. Guess we’ll be the first liberal UWS anti-gun gun owners. We didn’t allow our kids even gun toys.I
Purimschtick – if you were African Amercian you’d counsel your son not to ever carry a toy gun in public because he might be shot by the police and we would all be watching cell phone images of a different sort.
hey guys! be nice to my mom. she tries really hard, this is in no way her fault.
Its rather disturbing that you seem to find it amusing that someone walking around with what appears to be a real gun scares people. If you are really his mom you should talk to him about how dangerous this was you should both watch this https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/nov/26/cleveland-video-tamir-rice-shooting-police
hi mom!
i would first like to publicly apologize for causing public discomfort and unrest; i had no intention of scaring anyone, and i apologize if i created emotional trauma or terror for anyone. as i mentioned in an earlier comment, i had assumed that people would see the postal staff assisting me and realize that everything was perfectly safe. i once again apologize and offer cookies to anyone significantly disturbed by this episode.
i also sincerely hope that i did not waste any valuable or needed time of any nypd officer.
secondly, although this is no way was originally intended to be a social experiment, i can’t say that it didn’t reveal a certain number of things to me. they are many, but the most disturbing of which is the ease with which it appears it would be possible to attain and travel with a real gun. i am, in some way, frightened.
thirdly, i would simply like to point out the phrase, “odd behavious,” is both vague and subjective. i wasn’t pacing – i was looking for a box, and i kept the gun against my leg so as not to appear to be threatening anyone. “sly creepy grin,” is also a vague and subjective description. (although i must admit that this isn’t the first time the word creepy has been used in reference to myself.)
lastly, if anyone has a box that seems to be the approximate size of the gun, i’d appreciate it greatly.
A friend saw him on the subway with it. I saw him once in shul on shabbat. Thankfully without the gun.
i cant exactly walk around with a gun on shabbos, now, can I? (technically it’s just a prop, so I could, but you know.) i again apologize if i caused your friend any fear.
(additionally, i would like to point out that the postal staff were in no way whatsoever running around in a panic)
thank you, gun-wielding man. you seem to be a perfectly nice and reasonable person. why people go on and on trashing you (and your Mother!) is beyond me.
Assuming that the people who called in the complaint were accurate, it sounds like this guy was getting off by scaring people. Wouldn’t most people make sure to announce that they were carrying a prop?
I have a black, torso-length exercise vest with weights. It’s apparently the kind used by firefighters and the police to train. With my brown skin I understand that someone who didn’t know the difference could think I was a suicide bomber. If anyone is looking at me suspiciously you can be darn well sure I reassure them.
Maybe I shouldn’t have to, but it’s the price of living in a world with other people, many of whom are justifiably nervous, and who include me.
i did tell people it was prop! at least, i did while i was on the train. the post office was a bigger room so i couldnt really do anything then. as mentioned before i had assumed that people would see that the staff were calm and assisting me and would thus be comforted. also, i dont get off on scaring people. i really don’t.
Do you not see how incredibly stupid this was? Men and boys have been killed in precisely these types of situations.
i would estimate that an approximate 57% of me believed that *something* interesting might happen, but of that a very minimal portion believed that something actually serious would happen. Regardless of statistics, I choose to live life with a stubborn positivity. I would have granted any suspect enough benefit of the doubt not to shoot them immediately,and believed that others would grant me the same. On top of that, there was probably a degree of adventure seeking that valued extreme life experiences enough to not care about the potential risks.
I read all the comments of gun-wielding man, and sure enough, he all but admitted what I stated on here days before, that he was a millenial looking for a reaction. I quote “i would estimate that an approximate 57% of me believed that *something* interesting might happen” —. Your mother seems to encourage your atrocious, arrogant behavior. “trying to find a box that fits” is nonsense, you take the measurements in your home, and you go to any one of a number of UPS stores that sell boxes, NOT walk around with what looks like a real gun. I am far from a liberal, but if you were black, you would of been slammed to the ground by the NYPD at the very least. As an American and a Jew, you are an embarrassment to me. And I’m no old fuddy-duddy, I am under 40.
I would have packaged it up at home or put it in a bag as to not scare the community or even accidently get shot. The school should have handled it responisbly and not allow one of it’s students to run around town with it. I’d liek to add that this is amajor chillul hashem.
??? what else is supposed to be done with props? also, I for the most part was taking my own initiative in returning the gun.
Exactly what school has its students walking around with real looking gun “props”? Very irresponsible.
Gun wielding man,
What did the police say do when they arrived? Is it illegal to carry a toy gun that looks real? If so, were you fined?
they asked for my name, identification, and some other information. they asked what i was doing with the prop and how i had gotten it. they told me to bring it back to my school immediately and tell them to take care of it. it is not illegal nor was i fined.
Interesting. A “toy gun” has to be brightly coloured. A prop needn’t be. Since your were walking around the UWS with this and not in a play at that time how does it qualifies as a prop? These laws are here in 3.g.1 and 2
https://newyorkcityguns.com/prop-guns/
I’m also surprised the police didn’t warn you about how dangerous this was for you in today’s environment.
i had taken it straight from the theater to the post office. and many other people warned me about the danger, don’t worry.
i am equally as concerned for the safety of my fellow citizens as yourself. i was simply saying that the lack of warning from the police that i received is not immediately a cause for concern as many other people did indeed warn me about the potential danger.
Don’t be so self centered as to tell us not to worry. If the police or a citizen with a gun who thinks you are a threat start shooting anyone could be in harms way. You potentially put everyone in that post office in danger. While we don’t want to see you shot, we also don’t want to see people who simply needed to buy stamps shot because of your actions.
They choke unarmed men to death over cigarettes but let this kid walk away without so much as warning. I’m glad the kid is okay but the NYPD truly is a piece of work.
yeah, i was unclear about that, sorry. i was responding to the comment made about how the police let me walk back outside as i was. it was boxed and bagged by the postal office workers by the time the police arrived, and when they arrived they re-opened it for examination, and then repackaged it as they told me to return to school
when was it “it was inside two boxes inside a big garbage bag”? Not in the pictures and not when a poster above’s friend saw you on the subway. Plus why would people have warned you about the danger if it was wrapped up? This story isn’t making sense.
i mean, it was inside two boxes inside a big garbage bag. and i understand that most of the comments are for my own safety – thank you all for your concern.
I don’t think telling him to bring it back to school was prudent. This looked enough like a real gun that people called 911 and the police tell a “kid” who is the size of an adult to go back out onto the street with it.
To be clear, this and most of the comments on this thread aren’t mean as ganging up on gun-wielding man. We don’t want him or any innocent bystanders shot by police or “good Samaritans”
This is the thread that will never end.
everything will end.
Mom is very sorry kid didn’t think about the danger to himself or others. Sorrier than you know. Hope he will think of safety more in the future before adventure, though I don’t believe he intended to take the risks he did. There is still growing up needed and we thank you for bringing the conversation to where it needs to be.
“there is still growing up needed”
i personally find tht to be offensive tbh
because your jokes and snark about guns is sick.
why?
Is there a therapist on the UWS?
When will this nightmare end?
As a follow-up to my previous post expressing a dissenting view on “gun control”, I present the following. Below are links, along with brief representative excerpts, to portions of transcripts from past “Radio Derb” podcasts in which the host, John Derbyshire, addresses the topic and refutes many of the arguments, myths and falsehoods commonly advanced in support of “gun control”.
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2015-08-28.html#04
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2011-01-14.html
Scroll-down to the heading, “05 — Tucson shooting: Gun control.”
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2013-01-19.html#03
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2013-01-05.html#05
Also relevant:
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2013-04-20.html#06
https://johnderbyshire.com/Opinions/RadioDerb/2013-04-13.html#05