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Sep 27, 2007 1:42 pm US/Eastern
Hero Police Cadet Stops St. John's Gunman
Omesh Hiraman Taken Into Custody Following Campus Scare
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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With the help of campus security officers, Christopher Benson, a police cadet subdued Hiraman after a brief struggle.
CBS
The scare at St. John's University is over, thanks to a brave student who's training to become a police officer. He acted quickly to stop a masked man who was carrying a rifle on campus.
On Thursday morning, 22-year-old Omesh Hiraman, a St. John's student, was in police custody facing weapons possession charges. He was arrested Wednesday afternoon after he was seen walking around the campus wearing a Halloween mask, a black hoodie, and carrying a plastic bag with a .50 caliber muzzle loader rifle inside.
The campus was immediately locked down and students were alerted to stay in their dorms.
Police credited St. John's student and NYPD cadet for helping apprehend Hiraman.
"I looked closer, and I saw the garbage bag that you can see through, and I see the barrel of a gun," Benson said.
Benson began following Hiraman, who moved toward a campus building before bumping into another campus officer.
"We kind of met face-to-face, at which time I tried to get the rifle out of his hand, and it was like a tug of war," said St. John's University Campus Police Officer Dan Boylan.
That's when Benson, 21, stepped in.
"I just pushed him against the wall, removed the mask and his hood, and asked if he had any other weapons," Benson said.
In a matter of seconds, Benson ended what could have turned into another college campus tragedy.
The first video of Hiraman was taken by CBS 2 HD, as he was taken into Central Booking in Queens just after midnight.
Hiraman's parents say their son is sick and reacting poorly to medication.
"We believe this is a misunderstanding. Our son has always been a good boy and has never been in any sort of trouble. He would never harm anyone," said Pat Hiraman, the suspect's father.
According to his lawyer, doctors recently operated on him for scoliosis, and there was trouble with his pain medication. Investigators scoured his Elmhurst home after he was arrested for evidence. Detectives carried what they believed to be the rifle's carrying case from the family's home.
"He's a quiet kid," said neighbor Carlos Acosta. "You'd never expect something like this to happen from a kid like that."
Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 HD for the latest on this developing story.
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