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Anti Federalist
04-14-2017, 07:33 PM
Panicked mob flees a packed Penn Station after Amtrak cops jolt man with stun gun amid long NJ Transit delays

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/stampeding-mob-flees-penn-station-amtrak-cops-taser-man-article-1.3056434

BY
Ross Keith
Dan Rivoli

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Friday, April 14, 2017, 8:58 PM

Pandemonium erupted at Penn Station Friday after Amtrak police used a stun gun on an unruly man — sending scared riders scrambling for safety.

The transit hub was unusually crowded at rush hour thanks to an NJ Transit train that stalled in a tunnel earlier, causing massive delays to kick off the holiday weekend.

Cops confronted a man and subdued him with a stun gun around 6:30 p.m., sparking a stampede of frightened travelers who feared that a shooting had taken place.

“We were sitting on the ground and all of a sudden we heard this loud noise and everyone started sprinting,” said 24-year-old Aubrey Moore. “It sounded like a gunshot, but nobody knew what was going on so I just sprinted.”

FDNY officials said 13 people were injured in the chaos. Amtrak authorities said the man was taken into custody.

MTA, NJ Transit rip Amtrak after Penn Station derailment

Video of one of the arrest shows cops pinning a man on the ground and placing him in handcuffs.

“Be advised, individual in custody, force used, individual was Tased,” one of the officers says into his radio.

The four cops were quickly joined by officers from the NYPD and members of the National Guard.

“I’m not resisting. This is only my mouth. I have freedom of speech,” the suspect tells cops.

Penn Station's limited service over derailment to go on for days

Toward the end of the footage, a dazed-looking woman pushes past the cops shouting: “Where did my son go?”

Other videos, from networks covering the stalled train, show pandemonium erupting as panicked crowds pushed past one another to escape the underground hub.

Anna Renzi, 24, was waiting out a long delay on her trip home to Washington, D.C., with her family at Häagen-Dazs in the transit hub’s concourse when crowds began streaming by.

The stalled train cased up to 45-minute delays.

“I thought I heard someone yell ‘shooter,’ that’s why I threw my nephew behind a counter and jumped over and they just had us hide in the storage closet because I had the kids,” Renzi said. “The employees were so awesome they just had us hid there until it was safe to come out.”

Officials and the NYPD sought to assuage fears on social media after the stampede.

“Bad information. No shots have been fired at Penn Station. @NYPDMTS @NYPDSpecialops @Amtrak,” NYPD spokesman J. Peter Donald wrote.

nycityalerts False alarm causes mass stampede at Penn station isabella #pennstation pic.twitter.com/CtJOIIpMsf
— Natalie McKeon (@nataliemck18) April 14, 2017

“No shots were fired at Penn Station this evening,” Mayor de Blasio tweeted. “FDNY is on scene treating injuries that were sustained during panic.”

The incident was frighteningly similar to a scare last summer at Kennedy Airport when a raucous Olympic victory celebration sparked fears of a shooting.

On Friday, cops also responded to reports of a shooter at Macy’s flagship store on 34th St., just blocks from Penn Station — but said there was no need to panic.

Caught in mass stampede for the exists when a tasing incident was mistaken for an active shooter in Penn station. @NBCNewYork Aftermath: pic.twitter.com/XxdpEoKgqq
— Chris McClave (@McClave) April 14, 2017

“Additionally, we have responded to numerous calls for shots fired in & around MACys on 34th Street in Manhattan. All are unfounded,” Donald added.

The disarray at Penn Station began when a malfunction with overhead power equipment trapped 1,200 NJ Transit commuters on a train heading into Penn Station for about two hours, officials said.

The stalled train, #3850 out of Trenton, caused heavy delays, about an hour, on NJ Transit service heading in and out of Penn Station, according to the New Jersey transit agency and commuters.

The stalled NJ Transit train started its trek to Penn Station shortly before 6 p.m. once it regained power, according to executive director Steven Santoro.

Snyder encouraged commuters on the train to contact NJ Transit with their complaints.

“We deeply apologize for your experience, and I would like to hear from you,” Santoro said.

We are stuck behind another #NJTransit train stuck inside the tunnel to Penn Station. pic.twitter.com/yZb1wm2kEf
— Cameron Ridle (@CameronRidle) April 14, 2017

Riders waiting for the delays to clear took to Twitter to vent their frustration at NJ Transit.

“This is unbelievable. It should not have taken this long. Disgraceful,” wrote Neil Gallagher, in his first tweet since 2015.

“I've been stuck for an hour and twenty minutes...maybe change your delay time?,” user @BeckyAnne120 wrote.

Trains in/out of New York are now subject to up to 45 min delays due to an Amtrak overhead power problem in one of the Hudson River Tunnels.
— NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) April 14, 2017

Another passenger complained that he and his fellow NJ Transit riders are in the dark about the delays.

“@NJTRANSIT question- we are stuck on this train underground and no one is communicating to us what is actually happening- why?” wrote PatrickJWB.

Inside Penn Station, it was commuting chaos as hundreds of NJ Transit commuters crammed into its section of Penn Station, with trains on standby.

This is unbelievable. It should not have taken this long. Disgraceful.
— Neil Gallagher (@NGSquan79) April 14, 2017

Jessica Carson, 31, who needed to catch a 5:15 p.m. train to Livingston, N.J., for Shabbat dinner, wondered whether it was worth staying at Penn Station.

“I guess I'll hang for a bit before I call my father and ask if he would like to pay for an Uber,” she said, shrugging off the possibility of missing family dinner. “It's public transportation. It happens.”

Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert said that the agency’s engineering crews had to inspect the train before the train moved out of the south Hudson River tunnel.

So can I get my $5.25 back then? @NJTRANSIT #NJTransit #stuckinthetunnel
— ★ميا★ (@__________MiMi_) April 14, 2017

Penn Station commuters have been getting shafted lately by unreliable service at the busy transit hub, owned and maintained by Amtrak.

There were two train derailments in less than two weeks that caused days of limited service on NJ Transit and Long Island Rail Road trains, as Amtrak crews scrambled to bring Penn Station back to normal.

Government officials in both states have ripped into Amtrak's management of Penn Station following back-to-back derailments of NJ Transit trains, which investigators believe were caused by problems with the tracks.

otherone
04-14-2017, 07:40 PM
The four cops were quickly joined by officers from the NYPD and members of the National Guard.


How long before Interpol, NATO forces, and crisis counselors arrive?

#sheepnation

timosman
04-14-2017, 07:41 PM
No shots have been fired. It is just a taser.:rolleyes:

jkr
04-14-2017, 07:53 PM
casuing a panic in civies and the charge is???

in a cockraoch outfit? promotion!

jkr
04-14-2017, 07:53 PM
casuing a panic in civies and the charge is???

in a cockraoch outfit? promotion!

jkr
04-14-2017, 08:07 PM
casuing a panic in civies and the charge is???

in a cockraoch outfit? promotion!

JK/SEA
04-15-2017, 12:59 PM
those people shouldn't have panicked.

a little common sense here. A gun shot or taser?...everyone should know the difference by now.

timosman
04-15-2017, 01:17 PM
those people shouldn't have panicked.

a little common sense here. A gun shot or taser?...everyone should know the difference by now.

Toy guns are a different matter however - http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?433713-US-Cops-Shoot-Another-Teen-Holding-A-Fake-Gun

Schifference
04-15-2017, 01:20 PM
The people that panicked should be charged with a crime.

timosman
04-15-2017, 01:42 PM
The people that panicked should be charged with a crime.

I am sure there is a law somewhere that could be used just for that. Maybe even a fine print somewhere on the ticket.:cool:

Occam's Banana
04-15-2017, 03:30 PM
Cattle, meet cattle-prod. Cattle-prod, cattle ...

[... insert theme from Rawhide here ...]