New York Man Being Evicted From Treehouse Whacks Reporter With Stick
This will probably be one of the more bizarre headlines you'll read this week.
Officials were on site to "evict" a man, who the New York Post says had been living in a makeshift treehouse for months from a local park. But it appears this tenant was not ready to go quietly away from his personal loft. The homeless person, who some had dubbed "squirrel man", would not go down without a fight. One reporter there doing his job found out the hard way Monday morning.
The Post says as police were serving a "notice of clean up" in Riverbank State Park, the man suddenly hit a Post reporter with a large branch. The NY Post says he even managed to land one shot upside the reporter's head. Once down from the tree, police say the suspect also whacked a photographer with a garbage bag full of his belongings, before smashing the worker's camera. Local residents say the man had been up there in the tree for months, living in a blue tarp.
Police say the suspect has been charged with assault and criminal mischief. The move comes after Mayor Eric Adams promised over the next two weeks to clean up city streets from homeless encampments.
Street Crimes
These large encampments have become a problem for not only residents and commuters, but the homeless themselves. Many homeless people have also become the targets of violent crime. Just sitting or sleeping on the streets is dangerous enough, as this gentleman found out in 2021. And he wasn't even homeless.
Getting robbed once is bad enough. But twice, both on the same night? Now, police are investigating the matter of who robbed this very sound sleeper on the city sidewalk.
Fox says the incident(s) happened early morning on July 2, 2021, when a man fell asleep in front of his building in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Police say another man soon approached him and made off with the sleeping man's messenger bag that had his laptop in it. But it didn't end there. Soon after, another man approached the snoozer and stole his phone and wallet. Fox says that the second suspect used his card to make an unauthorized purchase shortly after.
It is uncertain at this time why the victim decided to take a siesta outside of his home, rather than in the comfort of his own bed. Perhaps he had too much to drink? A sudden bout of narcolepsy? Maybe he just took an impromptu camping excursion? Still, the NYPD is looking for answers. Anyone know of a person who was robbed in their sleep?