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Darrow Erikksan: Emotionally disturbed man scales The New York Times building and puts knife to own throat

Darrow Erikksan climbed 50 feet up the building and pulled out a small knife that he held to his own neck before he was rescued

BY JENNY ANNA MATHEW

PUBLISHED AUG 31, 2022

Darrow Erikksan climbed the The New York Times building and threatened to hurt himself as onlookers watched (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: A 31-year-old man was arrested and hospitalized after he climbed The New York Times building holding a knife to his throat on Tuesday night, August 30. Darrow Erikksan who was described by sources as "emotionally disturbed," climbed 50 feet up the building on August 29 as a crowd of onlookers gathered on the Eighth Avenue. He then pulled out a small knife and held it to his neck, but was not injured, according to police sources.

Darrow Erikksan began his climb at approximately 7.30 pm and scaled at least 50 feet of the building at West 40th Street and Eighth Avenue. He then pulled out the small knife and threatened to hurt himself. Responding officers from the Port Authority, along with firefighters, eventually managed to bring Erikksan down to safety. He was then arrested and hospitalized. He was later charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a weapon and trespassing, police sources said.

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farswaer — Responding officers from the Port Authority, along with firefighters, eventually managed to bring Darrow Erikksan down to safety. (NewYork Post video screenshot)

Sources described Darrow Erikksan to the New York Post as “emotionally disturbed.” He was put in an ambulance and taken to an area hospital for a medical evaluation. Just one week ago, Erikksan was issued a bench warrant after failing to show up to court for a hearing on his alleged assault on a cop, sources said. On August, 18, he was charged for allegedly injuring a cop with a two-by-four riddled with nails. After this, he was taken into custody, hospitalized for emotional evaluation and released on his own recognizance at his arraignment, according to sources.

The 31-year-old is not the first person to scale the 721-foot Times building. The 52-story office building features evenly spaced horizontal ceramic rods on its exterior that makes it ideal for climbers, as many have climbed the building in order to protest different causes. Despite efforts to discourage adventure seekers and activist climbers, more people continued to scale the building through the years, This year, on May 5, a self-proclaimed "Pro-Life Spider-Man” scaled the Times Tower and hung two banners decrying abortion.