The father of a teenager who was charged with bringing an AK-47 assault rifle into New York’s Times Square subway station was reportedly killed in a police shootout last month.
Saadiq Teague, 18, was arrested on Friday afternoon as he charged his phone in the station with the rifle on full display. While the rifle was not loaded, the teen had bullets and a gas mask in his backpack. He faces charges including two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of criminal possession in the third degree, and one count of criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
Earlier news reports have revealed that the teen’s father, 43-year-old Andrew Teague, was shot dead by police on 3 March in Columbus, Ohio.
Police had attempted to arrest the elder Teague on a felony assault warrant, causing him to flee and lead officers on a chase along Interstate 270.
After an hour-long pursuit, Teague exited his vehicle and exchanged gunshots with officers. The suspect was fatally shot during the incident, WBNS-TV reported.
According to the NYPD, the man’s son, Saadiq Teague, was apprehended on Friday by a transit officer on the mezzanine level of the Times Square station by the turnstiles leading to the A,C,E line, New York Daily News reported.
According to The New York Post, a police source said the teenager told officers that he thought carrying an unloaded rifle with the ammunition separate from the weapon was legal in New York City.
Officers approached the subject and questioned his intentions. The suspect reportedly claimed that he had a permit for the weapon in Ohio.
Police have not revealed why the suspect had the weapon and loaded magazine in his possession.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea congratulated the officers involved in the routine patrol of the subway station for their ability to arrest the suspect without incident.
“This story could’ve had a tragically different ending, but thanks to these diligent cops it ends with the suspect in handcuffs,” Mr Shea tweeted on Friday.
