Kenny Guido
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Teen drives car through Sunrise Mall
BY KEITH HERBERT AND BILL MASON
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June 7, 2007, 10:52 PM EDT
Shoppers and merchants screamed and ran for safety as a man drove a car Thursday night through Sunrise Mall in East Massapequa, speeding along walkways and slamming into a kiosk before racing out another entrance, police said.
No one was hurt in the rampage, which occurred around 7 p.m. After returning to the parking lot, the driver, 19, stopped and got out of the 1995 Toyota Corolla. At that point, a good Samaritan grabbed him, holding the suspect until mall security arrived. Police arrived later and arrested him.
Theresa Schuessler, of Farmingdale, was walking out of Macy's near a bookstore in the mall when she heard people screaming and noticed something moving inside the mall at high speed.
She said she saw the driver's face. "He was smiling the whole time and laughing like this was nothing," she said. She grabbed her mother, Aileen, by the arm and pulled her out of the way of the automobile.
Nassau Police Sgt. Anthony Repalone said the man in custody is from Amityville. His name was not released last night, but he will be charged with numerous felonies, Repalone said, including reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
Police would not comment on the man's motive but Harmeet Singh, 24, of Hicksville, who operates two kiosks in the mall, said he was outside when the suspect was first apprehended and overheard an officer ask him why he did it. "I'm just sick and tired," Singh quoted the man as saying.
After the incident, police said a woman walking near the entrance cut her foot on broken glass. Police said mall management estimated the damage at about $60,000.
"It was basically screeching tires, breaking glass, people running out of the way," said Bryan Daly, 15, who was in the mall while his 13-year-old brother, Kevin, was just outside. "People were just sprinting around, just getting out of the way," he said.
His brother, who was in the Wal-Mart next door, saw the driver coming out and sped away. "I heard a big crash. I rode my bike because I was scared out of my mind," he said.
Singh said he heard people screaming, and came out to investigate. "I saw a lady running and shouting," he said, then saw a car going 30 to 40 mph down the corridor.
The car rammed one of his kiosks, which was unmanned, spinning it 360 degrees, Singh said. "He didn't even stop one millisecond. ... I feel so lucky because I didn't have help," he said.
Emerson Clarridge contributed to this story.
BY KEITH HERBERT AND BILL MASON
[email protected]
[email protected]
June 7, 2007, 10:52 PM EDT
Shoppers and merchants screamed and ran for safety as a man drove a car Thursday night through Sunrise Mall in East Massapequa, speeding along walkways and slamming into a kiosk before racing out another entrance, police said.
No one was hurt in the rampage, which occurred around 7 p.m. After returning to the parking lot, the driver, 19, stopped and got out of the 1995 Toyota Corolla. At that point, a good Samaritan grabbed him, holding the suspect until mall security arrived. Police arrived later and arrested him.
Theresa Schuessler, of Farmingdale, was walking out of Macy's near a bookstore in the mall when she heard people screaming and noticed something moving inside the mall at high speed.
She said she saw the driver's face. "He was smiling the whole time and laughing like this was nothing," she said. She grabbed her mother, Aileen, by the arm and pulled her out of the way of the automobile.
Nassau Police Sgt. Anthony Repalone said the man in custody is from Amityville. His name was not released last night, but he will be charged with numerous felonies, Repalone said, including reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
Police would not comment on the man's motive but Harmeet Singh, 24, of Hicksville, who operates two kiosks in the mall, said he was outside when the suspect was first apprehended and overheard an officer ask him why he did it. "I'm just sick and tired," Singh quoted the man as saying.
After the incident, police said a woman walking near the entrance cut her foot on broken glass. Police said mall management estimated the damage at about $60,000.
"It was basically screeching tires, breaking glass, people running out of the way," said Bryan Daly, 15, who was in the mall while his 13-year-old brother, Kevin, was just outside. "People were just sprinting around, just getting out of the way," he said.
His brother, who was in the Wal-Mart next door, saw the driver coming out and sped away. "I heard a big crash. I rode my bike because I was scared out of my mind," he said.
Singh said he heard people screaming, and came out to investigate. "I saw a lady running and shouting," he said, then saw a car going 30 to 40 mph down the corridor.
The car rammed one of his kiosks, which was unmanned, spinning it 360 degrees, Singh said. "He didn't even stop one millisecond. ... I feel so lucky because I didn't have help," he said.
Emerson Clarridge contributed to this story.
