Apr 2, 2008 6:34 pm US/Eastern
Molotov Cocktail-Wielding Maniac Faces Charges
Attempted Murder, Arson & Reckless Endangerment
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
It was a wild scene Tuesday night as the NYPD confronted a man throwing Molotov cocktails from a rooftop.
And that was only the half of it.
There were some intense moments as police finally apprehended a machete-wielding Felipe Velasquez after he slashed a man, who had just gotten off a subway, and then jumped from rooftop to rooftop while trying to escape, all this while throwing Molotov cocktails at police.
The bizarre rampage began around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when Velasquez slashed a 44-year-old man with this two-foot long machete. The suspect said nothing, witnesses said, as he attacked the victim as he walked along 123rd Street. The victim was slashed in the head. He survived, witnesses said, by fighting off his attacker with an umbrella.
"He fought him off," a witness said. "Knocked the machete out of his hand."
The 21-year-old then ran off and spent the next 90 minutes on a rooftop, inside the home owned by Sakundale Gafur.
"I was like what is he doing on top of my roof?" Gafur said. "You can't even get up on top of there. I was like screaming. I told the police I want my mom and daughter out of there now."
Once on the roof, police say, Velasquez started tossing his homemade firebombs towards the street.
One Molotov cocktail struck an unmarked police car and burst into flames. Witnesses were stunned.
"He just picked up a bottle filled with some kind of liquid and lit it on fire and threw it down at them," Rob Vando said. "He blew up their car. And then he calmly picked up another one and then a third one."
On the scene a massive police force, approximately 100 officers strong. One witness told CBS 2 HD he called 911.
"He was bloody all over," the witness said.
Police evacuated the two to safety and then negotiators went to work.
"That's what he had a bad day, yesterday was his bad day," said Robert Zajac of the NYPD.
Velasquez finally gave up after these final words from police.
"Today's a new day," Zajac said. "Let's start fresh right now."
Velasquez is now undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at a nearby hospital. He now faces multiple charges including attempted murder, arson and reckless endangerment.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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