A man who was stopped by police as he entered the New York City subway was carrying two loaded machine guns.
A NYPD officer who was patrolling the Manhattan subway station stopped 33-year-old Reggie Allen of Columbia, S.C., after he entered the turnstiles at the A, C, E station at 42nd St. and Eighth Ave around 5:25 p.m. on Sunday night without paying the fare, according to police reports as reported by the New York Daily News.
Allen, who has a “Me Against the World” tattoo on his neck, looked suspicious to the officer when he noticed a bulge coming from the man’s midsection. Upon stopping and frisking the suspect the officer discovered that he had a loaded .45-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun tucked into his waistband, police said.
The officer confiscated the weapon and proceeded to search the man’s hand bag. When the officer opened the bag and searched through it he uncovered the man was also concealing a loaded Intratec Luger Tec-9 machine gun. The officer then discovered that the suspect was carrying several extra ammunition clips, according to Fox News.
Allen was charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm, criminal possession of a machine gun, criminal possession of a defaced weapon and criminal possession of an ammo clip, the New York Daily News reported. Allen was carrying more than 34 bullets all together, police said.
This comes as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, who oversees the New York City’s subway system, tries to scale back station attendants and monitors amid a growing budget crisis.
The NYPD does screen passengers at various subway locations around the city and routinely checks rider’s bags to maintain a safe ride for everyone. But with the volume of passengers that ride the trains every day being able to check everyone is nearly impossible.
