Three NYPD vehicles were vandalized by an unruly mob of more than 200 people during a car meetup in Queens that went haywire, police said Monday.
Three suspects were later nabbed in the Bronx while police released surveillance photos of other suspects, many clad in masks, still being sought.
“We will not tolerate lawlessness or vandalism aimed at the police,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X, announcing that several individuals were arrested “for crimes that endangered our cops and our streets.”
The mayhem kicked off shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday near Rockaway Boulevard and 97th Ave. in Ozone Park. police said.
Three NYPD vehicles, two of them unmarked, were vandalized as the unruly crowd surrounded the vehicles, video shows. The cars were dented, with a number of windows broken with traffic cones, police said.
As more cops were called to the scene the group dispersed, with more than 200 vehicles speeding off in all directions.,
Tristian Nandram, 18, of Jamaica, Queens, was arrested about 4 a.m. Monday at another meetup, this one at Zarega and Gleason Ave. in the Bronx. More than 20 drivers surrounded a single NYPD patrol car with Nandram smashing a window and stealing a bag with police paperwork from the backseat, cops said. He ran off but was chased down and tased by cops, who arrested him.
Nandram is charged criminal mischief, obstructing governmental administration, petty larceny and possession of stolen property.
Jordi Montesquieu, 23, of Massachusetts, and Tyler Newman, 18, of New Hampshire,, were arrested elsewhere in the Bronx. Montesquieu was charged with fleeing a police car, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and obstructing governmental administration. Newman was charged with was obstructing governmental administration.
Meet-ups, with group of car enthusiasts gathering en masse and often racing each other and performing stunts, have happened with greater frequency since the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Anyone with information about the suspects in Sunday’s mayhem is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.