Image: @rkeithdavis
Only in New York City do the phrases "man with a sword" and "Apple store" appear in the same sentence.A man swinging a samurai sword triggered panic when he was seen by staff and customers brandishing his weapon in the flagship store. According to police, the man, identified as 30-year-old Hsu Chien, threatened to kill himself."I have never in my life felt so terrified," Nancy Birnbaum, who was at the store's Genius Bar, told NBC New York. "He pulled his sword out and everybody got back. I honestly thought that was it."
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A customer who was at the store at the time, Luis Apolo, told Gothamist that the man "tried to stab himself" while on the staircase:"He got on his knees and started counting up from one to ten, and then people started backing up, fearing he had a bomb," Apolo said.An insane video of the incident shows the man swinging the sword around on the transparent spiral staircase in the middle of the store:A man pulled out a samurai sword inside the Apple Store today while I was working & I don't think I've ever been so scared in my entire life
John ClydeNovember 20, 2015
The man was subdued by police, and EMS took him to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.Man armed with a sword arrested at BorisNovember 20, 2015
An employee at the Apple Store told Motherboard that he and other employees were not allowed to comment on the incident. A call and emails to Apple's press office were not returned by press time.