Police arrested a 30-year-old individual inside Trump Tower following reports of a disorderly person on an “elevated surface” within the building, authorities said.
New York City Police responded around 4:30 p.m. to the Manhattan skyscraper, which houses President Donald Trump’s penthouse residence, along with private condos, restaurants, retail stores, and a public atrium frequented by tourists, the Associated Press reported.
Independent journalists on the scene shared footage showing security clearing the atrium and NYPD officers later exiting the building. The officers were equipped with helmets and safety harnesses typically used by emergency responders trained for high-angle rescues.
According to police, the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit took the individual into custody without further incident. The person’s identity and potential charges have not yet been released, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Trump Tower has a long history of high-profile incidents, including protests, bomb scares, and stunts. In 2016, a man attempted to scale the building and reached the 21st floor before being pulled inside by officers.
In October, an Ohio man was charged after police discovered weapons in his vehicle and the room of his room in Chicago Trump Tower.
Brandon Peck, 21, from Oakwood, Ohio, was arrested Tuesday night after a Trump Tower employee noticed firearms prominently displayed in Peck’s room. This discovery triggered a significant response from Chicago police and SWAT teams. Subsequently, Peck was found and apprehended at the hotel gym, Fox 32 reported.
Peck informed officers that he had traveled from Ohio to accompany his mother and stepfather for a doctor’s appointment but was unaware of the appointment’s time and location, officials stated. He confessed to possessing two firearms in his hotel room and another in his vehicle parked in Trump Tower’s garage.
A search of Peck’s hotel room uncovered a Bear Creek Arsenal 10mm rifle, a semi-automatic Ruger, and a duffel bag containing several magazines, a firearm frame, and ammunition.
Investigators also found a semi-automatic SIG Sauer, additional magazines with live rounds, a black rifle bag, and a black scope in his vehicle.
According to court documents, Peck told officers that he had recently purchased the weapons, the report said.
Peck has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for possessing loaded firearms without a concealed carry license or FOID card. Additionally, he faces a citation for possessing high-capacity magazines and metal-piercing bullets.
No injuries were reported during the incident, but authorities temporarily cordoned off the Trump Tower area while conducting the investigation, Fox 32 added. Trump was not in the area at the time, according to reports.
The former president was subjected to a pair of assassination attempts over the summer. He was nearly killed in Butler, Pa., on July 13 by Thomas Crooks, 20, who grazed the former president’s right ear while killing another rallygoer and wounding two others.
In September, Secret Service agents managed to thwart another attempt at Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach as he was playing a round with a friend. Agents spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a hedgerow near a green as Trump and his golf partner were approaching several hundred yards away. The suspect, Ryan Routh, has a sketchy background, including time spent in Ukraine.