A sword-wielding man brought Apple’s flagship New York store to standstill as he threatened to kill himself in front of hundreds of people before being tackled by off-duty police. In the fashion of a real Fruit Ninja game, the man came in with intention to burst a watermelon, though the authorities were able to stop this just in time.
Panic at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue
Hsu Chien walked into the Apple Store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and walked up to its second level before pulling out a katana blade and shouting at onlookers he was going to kill himself. One shopper managed to capture the scene on video. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, Mr Chien can be seen brandishing the samurai sword and swinging it at the air as he walks back and forth on the store’s spiral staircase.
At one point, the 30-year-old begins to count down, leading to many in the store to panic and run for the exits as they fear he might have a bomb. As Mr Chien continued to swing the sword around, it slipped from his grasp – giving two off-duty police officers the opportunity to tackle him and remove the sword.
The Slip Up that Saved His Life and Others’, Too
After the incident in the Apple Store, Mr Chien was then taken to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, and was later charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. The incident was not terror-related, police confirmed.
This will undoubtedly bring in extra security at the Apple Store in Fifth Avenue, and potentially other Apple Store establishments in the city. Thankfully, this event was stopped before anything drastic could happen.
