BROOKLYN (PIX11) — A French tourist has been arrested after climbing the Brooklyn Bridge to take photos, officials said.
Jonathon Souid, 23, of Esnandes, France, was spotted climbing the bridge over Manhattan-bound traffic Sunday around 12:30 p.m.
Police say he climbed over a 4-foot fence and managed to get 20 feet up the northern-most Brooklyn Bridge cable before an NYPD officer on foot patrol spotted him. The officer told him to get down. He complied and was then taken into police custody.
“Everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame,” German tourist Sevastian Kissel told PIX 11.
Souid was taken to the 84th Precinct in Downtown Brooklyn. He remained in police custody Saturday evening and was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.
In July, a pair of U.S. flags were taken from the Brooklyn Bridge and replaced with white flags. A pair of German artists, Mischa Leinkauf and Mittias Wermke, eventually claimed responsibility for the swap. They sent a video to The New York Times, which was apparently recorded from the top of the bridge next to one of the white flags.
One month later, Russian tourist Yaroslav Kolchin was caught scaling the Brooklyn side of the bridge.
“The defendant was observed by the officer on top of the Brooklyn side tower, which is approximately 276 feet high,” the District Attorney for Kings County said.
Kolchin faced charges of reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and multiple counts of trespassing.
Senator Schumer proposed a bill in October that would punish bridge trespassers with up to five years in federal prison.
“We cannot turn New York into a playground or worse,” the senator said.
