Metro

Tense video shows NYPD cops clear playing kids from street just blocks away from wild U-Haul rampage

By
Amanda Woods,
Kevin Sheehan and
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
Published Feb. 15, 2023
Updated Feb. 15, 2023, 9:11 p.m. ET

Pulse-pounding body camera footage captures dozens of kids frantically dispersing from a Brooklyn play street at the urging of NYPD cops – blocks from the U-Haul driver who allegedly mowed down several pedestrians in a late-morning rampage. 

The clip, released on the NYPD’s Twitter Tuesday night, shows the cops getting out of their cruiser near the closed-off street where small children were playing in front of Bay Ridge Prep on Ridge Boulevard near 81st Street on Monday. 

As cops rushed over to the children, joined by adults, an officer can be heard yelling, “Let’s go! Inside! Guys, get off the street! Inside the school!”

The footage cuts off as the kids run back into the school.

“On Monday morning, with a man violently driving a U-Haul truck and striking people just blocks away, these 68th Precinct officers cleared dozens of elementary school children, teachers, and staff from this Brooklyn Playstreet in an effort to save lives,” the NYPD captioned the video.

“This is Neighborhood Policing and your officer’s actions further exemplify the NYPD’s unwavering commitment to protecting the communities we serve.”

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A spokesperson for the school said in a statement Wednesday that Bay Ridge Prep “immediately secured” the street and shuffled the kids into the school “upon learning of the events unfolding in our neighborhood.”

No members of the school community were injured, the spokesperson said, adding, “We are thankful to the NYPD and the officers of the 68th Precinct for their swift response and help with keeping our school and our neighborhood safe.”

The clip shows children were playing in front of Bay Ridge Prep on Ridge Boulevard near 81st Street on Monday.  Gregory P. Mango

One mom at the school, who asked to be identified only as Kris, said she was “sick to my stomach” while watching the video.

 “I can see her in the video. I can see her coat. It was terrifying to watch it,” she said of her 6-year-old daughter.

The U-Haul did strike one of the victims, a 66-year-old man, at 73rd Street and Third Avenue at 11:05 a.m. about a block from Bay Ridge Prep High School, two avenues away from the elementary school. But the mom claimed the young kids weren’t cleared from the street until about 12 minutes later.

Albert Tyutin, who picked up two children at the school for family friends, added that having the students in the street at all “doesn’t make sense.”

“I mean, I think this situation showed that it’s not a good idea,” he said.

Suspect Weng faces a murder charge and seven counts of attempted murder. Nevada Department of Corrections via AP

The suspect, identified by cops as Weng Sor, 62, hurtled his U-Haul through Bay Ridge, into Dyker Heights, and back in Bay Ridge – striking at least eight people, authorities said. 

Three of the victims were on a bike, three were on a moped, one was on an e-bike and one was walking when they were hit, officials have said. 

Yijie Ye, 44, a father of three who took a job as an Uber Eats driver to help feed his kids, was killed in the rampage.

Ye was struck at Bay Ridge Parkway and Fifth Avenue and suffered a serious head injury, police said. He succumbed to his injuries at NYU Langone-Brooklyn. 

The children were playing in the street in front of Bay Ridge Prep. Gregory P. Mango

Mohammed Salah Rakch, 36, was placed in a medically induced coma after he was struck at Fourth Avenue and 55th Street in Sunset Park. 

He is a married dad to a 3-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl.

Police said Sor — who has a lengthy rap sheet in Nevada and a history of mental illness — was out to commit suicide by cop.

He faces a murder charge, as well as seven counts of attempted murder, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a Tuesday press conference. 

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Sor – who was suffering a “mental health crisis” — told cops he was set off by an “invisible object” coming toward his truck — when he allegedly unleashed the Monday morning spree, Essig said. 

“He states when he’s driving his van, he sees an invisible object come towards the car and at that point, he says, ‘I’ve had enough’ and he goes on his rampage,’” the police official told reporters. 

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