The United Nations headquarters in New York was sealed off this Thursday, December 2 in the late morning due to the presence of an armed man in front of its gates, who threatened to kill himself but was finally arrested, according to police and sources within the UN.
Images circulating on social media showed a man, dressed in red, holding what looks like a large caliber weapon under his chin, on a sidewalk surrounding the United Nations headquarters compound, surrounded by police, at the level from 42nd Street and 1st Avenue in Manhattan.
Stand-off –Man with gun pacing in front of the United Nations. Police saying “put down the guy. There are better ways to get your message out.” White male. Gray hair. Red sweater tan jacket. pic.twitter.com/qOB5NACBne
– Greg Kelly-Ripped in 2022. (@gregkellyusa) December 2, 2021
“We have a man under arrest,” said around 2 p.m. (7 p.m. GMT) to theAFP a spokeswoman for the New York police force, when the incident started in the middle of the morning. The man “threatens to kill himself”, a UN official speaking anonymously had indicated earlier. The police did not immediately give details of the man’s motives.
Entrance reopened at noon (5 p.m. GMT)
The closure of the headquarters did not cause any disruption in the buildings where the Security Council was continuing a meeting devoted to Iraq. One of the entrances to the UN, at 46th Street in Manhattan, had been reopened at noon (5 p.m. GMT), according to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
