Two people who reached the top of the Empire State Building’s spire in New York City on Wednesday afternoon are in custody, according to the New York Police Department.
The two were taken into police custody, after unfurling a peace banner and appeared to start making out nearly 1,500 feet above the city. In one especially surreal moment, the man got down on one knee and appeared to propose. The two embraced and kissed as an NBC New York helicopter circled overhead.
The two made their way down to street level, where they were taken into custody by law enforcement, according to New York Police Department spokesperson Delaney Kempner. They were both charged with felony burglary, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of burglar’s tools, criminal tampering, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, according to an NYPD spokesperson. It was not immediately clear how the pair ascended to the top of the building, one of the city’s marquee tourist attractions. The couple scaled a 200-foot spire atop the 1,250-foot skyscraper, the sixth-tallest building in the country. Cellphone videos recorded by onlookers captured the confusion at the scene as the pair stood near the building’s needle. The incident comes as New York City grapples with a heat wave and an influx of visitors for World Cup matches and the July Fourth holiday weekend.
