Just days after flames ravaged the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, a New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday night after entering St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighters, according to the New York Police Department.
The unidentified 37-year-old man had pulled up in a minivan outside the landmark cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, walked around the area, then returned to his vehicle at 7:55 p.m. and retrieved the gasoline and lighter fluid, said NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller.
"As he enters the cathedral he's confronted by a cathedral security officer who asks him where he's going and informs him he can't proceed into the cathedral carrying these things," said Miller. "At that point some gasoline apparently spills out onto the floor as he's turned around."
Security then notified officers from the counter-terrorism bureau who were standing outside, Miller said. The officers caught up to the man and arrested him after he was questioned.
"His basic story was he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue. That his car had run out of gas," Miller said. "We took a look at the vehicle. It was not out of gas and at that point he was taken into custody."
"It's hard to say exactly what his intentions were, but I think the totality of circumstances of an individual walking into an iconic location like St. Patrick's Cathedral carrying over four gallons of gasoline, two bottles of lighter fluid and lighters is something that we would have great concern over," Miller said. "His story is not consistent."
Miller said the suspect is known to police, who are currently looking into his background.
St. Patrick's Cathedral was built in 1878 and has installed a sprinkler-like system during recent renovations. Its wooden roof is also coated with fire retardant.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — At least 90 people were injured in Argentina's capital when a passenger train struck an empty boxcar on the tracks and derailed Friday, authorities said, a rare collision that fueled questions about basic safety.
The train was on its way from Buenos Aires to the northern suburbs when it derailed around 10:30 a.m. on a bridge in the trendy neighborhood of Palermo, safety officials said.
While it was not immediately clear why the idled boxcar had been on the bridge, Argentina's railway union said several meters (yards) of copper cable used to carry power along the tracks had been stolen from the railway, disabling the signaling system intended to prevent such accidents.
Union leaders fiercely opposed to libertarian President Javier Milei's economic austerity blamed the government for its failure to invest in public infrastructure.
“We have been demanding for 10 days that the stolen signaling cables be repaired," rail union leader Omar Maturano told the country's independent Radio Con Vos station. “The government said there was no money for spare parts.”
Prosecutors said they were investigating.
“There is not enough information about the mechanics of this accident,” Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri said from the crash site where he praised the swift evacuation of victims.
Dozens of injured were treated at the scene and 30 people taken to hospitals in moderate to serious condition, at least two by helicopter with chest trauma and broken bones.
Alberto Crescenti, director of the city's emergency service, said rescuers with police dogs had helped 90 people trapped in the derailed train, lowering some by rope from the highway overpass scattered with twisted metal and shattered glass.
Dazed passengers staggering out of the derailed boxcars told local media the train had stopped on the bridge for several minutes before starting up again and slamming violently into the other train, jolting passengers and veering off the rails in a jumble of sparks and smoke.
Officials at the Argentine rail authority, Trenes Argentinos, said service on the popular rail line had been suspended, complicating travel for many commuters.
The collision brought increased scrutiny to rail safety in Argentina, where a string of train crashes from 2012-2014 left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured. It emerged at the time that outdated infrastructure, delays and human error had left the railway system vulnerable to crashes, prompting the government to invest in new safety and braking systems.
With Argentina's economy spiraling and anti-government protests gripping the streets, the crash quickly spawned contradictory narratives, with both government officials and leftist union leaders using the incident to further their agendas.
“The rail company has been totally degraded because there's no budget," said Maturano, from the rail union.
President Milei reposted comments on social media blaming his left-leaning predecessors for neglecting public infrastructure and running up a massive budget deficit.
In the midst of Argentina's worst economic crisis in two decades, police have repeatedly reported would-be cable thieves being electrocuted in the act. Those who succeed wreak havoc on the rail system in stealing metal to sell to scrapyards, where local media says the going rate is about $7 a kilogram ($3.18 a pound).
The Argentine website Infobae in February called copper cable theft “a trendy crime for the crisis.”
Police tape off the site after a passenger train collision in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A paramedic transports an injured commuter after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Railway workers inspect a passenger train after it collided with another in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Franco Dergarabedian)
Railway workers inspect a passenger train after it collided with another in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A police officer talks to a commuter who was injured when two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A train wagon that collided with another stands on the rails in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Paramedics transport injured commuters after two trains collided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
