NEW YORK (WABC) — The NYPD and FBI have two people in custody after uncovering a threat to the Jewish community.
An attentive MTA officer tracked down a man at Penn Station that police had been looking for. They say Christopher Brown had been making threats on social media to shoot up a synagogue.
When Brown, who is from Aquebogue in Suffolk County, was caught at Penn Station, and had a large hunting knife on him.
Officers also arrested Matthew Mahrer, who was accompanying Brown. Investigators searched Mahrer’s apartment in New York City and found a Glock 17 firearm.
Brown had been on the radar for making threats against the Jewish community for some time, and the threats were getting more serious as of recent, further raising concerns.
The Jewish community has already been on edge – just over two weeks ago, an 18-year-old from Sayreville, New Jersey was arrested for making an online threat that sent police scrambling to add extra patrols at local synagogues and yeshivas.
Christopher brown is now facing charges for making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon. It is still unclear how the second man, Matthew Mahrer was involved – if at all. Mahrer has one charge of possession of a weapon.
MTA PD Chief John Mueller released a statement Saturday saying in part,
“The tremendous police work here reflects the MTA PD’s core purpose – protecting millions of daily commuters, in collaboration with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners.”
Federal prosecutors are deciding whether additional charges are warranted.
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