Virginia man Matthew Dixon arrested for threatening crowd at Empire State Building with a sword
Police have identified the unhinged Virginia man swinging a sword around on the observation deck of the Empire State Building as Matthew Dixon.
Dixon, 35, of Lorton, Virginia, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon after being caught waving the sword, gesturing and shouting at tourists, hiding it in a cane.
Authorities detailed the incident which happened at around 4:30 p.m. Friday which was captured on surveillance footage.
In the clip, Dixon can be seen waving the “sword stick” as people, wearing only pajama pants, shedding his shirt.
Eyewitnesses say the ordeal lasted about 10 minutes before the NYPD arrived and secured Dixon, who quickly dropped the weapon.
Chief of Department Terence Monahan posted surveillance video of the arrest on Twitter.
Monahan described the man as “emotionally disturbed” and said officers acted quickly to keep people safe.
Dixon was surrounded by police and taken into custody.
“When an emotionally disturbed man walked into the Empire State Building holding a cane sword today, NYPD cops reacted quickly to keep people safe. Our highly-trained officers delivered a safe outcome for everyone,” tweeted NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan.
Dixon, who police sources said was threatening to kill himself, remained at Bellevue Hospital Saturday, where he’d been taken for psychiatric evaluation.
A building spokesperson said the incident was resolved without interrupting Observatory operations or impacting any guests.
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Mathew Dixon
