A 44-year-old man was arrested after climbing to the top of New York City’s historic Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday, displaying flags and eventually plunging into the water, police said.
Galymzhan Abaildayev is facing charges of reckless endangerment, graffiti, public lewdness, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, the New York Police Department said in a statement to NBC News on Monday. It’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
Police were called to the Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday afternoon after reports that a man was scaling the 143-year-old bridge with a backpack. Abaildayev allegedly stripped down after reaching the top of the bridge’s north tower.
He then jumped from the top of the bridge’s tower into the East River, where police said he was rescued by the department’s harbor unit. He was then taken to a city hospital in stable condition.
The Brooklyn Bridge has a clearance of 135 feet from the water at its center, according to New York City’s Department of Transportation. The city does not detail the exact height of the towers, but a company that worked on restoration of the bridge noted that the towers are 272 feet tall.
Abaildayev had a backpack and two flags with him, according to police. The police department did not provide additional information as to what was on the flags.
