Chaos ensued in Washington Square Park Saturday when a man reportedly armed with a taser and knife sent park goers running for cover, trampling a woman as they escaped.
The woman was covered in blood after being “run over,” police told the New York Post.
“Dramatic images show the victim, 43, bleeding from her face. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition with cuts, scrapes and bruises, cops said,” the outlet continued:
Police collared a 42-year-old Manhattan man following the chaos. Jason McDermott is charged with menacing, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
The latest havoc in the famed park comes amid increasing outrage over repeated incidents of violence. Hundreds of locals packed the basement of a Greenwich Village church this week for an emergency meeting about the problems — as police officials promised to “address” their growing concerns.
It was unclear what caused McDermott to allegedly wave a taser near a group of people inside the park at about 12:40 a.m., the Post article read, adding, “He was also carrying a large knife.”
According to the Village Sun, no one in the park was shocked or stabbed during the incident and law enforcement told the Post the park remained open.
Residents of New York City’s Greenwich Village have been begging police officers to put a stop to the nightly takeover of Washington Square Park, where people meet to sell drugs, have sex, and commit crimes, Breitbart News reported Thursday.
Hundreds met with the New York City Police (NYPD) Wednesday and asked for the department to restore order to the surrounding area.
“The criminality has extended to our quaint street,” one woman said during the event, adding, “From lewd acts to nudity to drugs, crack being smoked on our street, our children have witnessed people shooting up.”
In May, the park was left trashed after hundreds gathered to mark the city’s return to “near normality” in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance regarding masks.