According to law enforcement officers with the New York Police Department, two men and two women were arrested after posing with BB guns on a Facebook live video, sparking panic. The four were reportedly taken into custody after a massive law enforcement response to the Gramercy Park Hotel.
The incident reportedly happened on Nov. 29 around 5 p.m. The four had posted a video to Facebook of them playing with BB guns in one of the hotel rooms. Police responded en masse to the room. Those who were taken into custody included a 32-year-old man, a 30-year-old man, a 25-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman.
In addition to the BB guns, officers allegedly found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the room. The two men were also charged with possessing heroin. The incident began when a cousin of one of the four saw the video and called the hotel, prompting the hotel to call 911. The hotel clerk told dispatchers that somebody had weapons of mass destruction in room 112. Officers found six BB guns, the drugs and a variety of credit and gift cards in the room. The two men had reportedly just met the two women two days before the incident.
Drug crimes are treated very seriously in New York, and people who are charged with them may face long sentences. People might want to get help from criminal defense attorneys as soon as possible after they have been charged so that a strategy can be developed to combat the allegations.
Source: New York Daily News, “Four charged after Facebook live video of BB guns prompted massive NYPD response at Gramercy Park Hotel,” Graham Rayman, Nov. 30, 2016