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A Long Island man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly pulled a gun on a child who was attempting to deliver a Halloween gift, according to police, but ended up at the wrong house.
As is common for numerous holiday periods, instances of crime and violence are known to spike during Halloween and the days leading up to it. As noted in a report from The Guardian, at least eight people in the U.S. were killed in shootings over the recent Halloween weekend, while 50 more were injured. This included an incident at a Saturday night party in the town of Texarkana, Texas, where three people were killed after guns were pulled during a fistfight.
The incident took place on Saturday evening in Manhasset, New York, a Long Island town located roughly 25 miles east of Manhattan, in Nassau County. At around 7:30 p.m. ET, police say a mother was driving around a neighborhood with her three children and nephew, helping her 10-year-old daughter deliver a Halloween goodie bag to a friend.
The daughter and her 6-year-old little sister exited the vehicle and approached a home on Rockrest Road they mistakenly believed was the friend's house. They left the goodie bag by the front door, rang the doorbell, and returned to their mother's car. Only once the family had driven down the block did the younger sister realize that they had left the bag at the wrong address. Returning to the home, the 6-year-old got out of the vehicle on her own to retrieve the bag.
At that point, the owner of the home, 43-year-old Michael Yifan Wen, opened the front door and pointed a black handgun at the young girl's head. Details from this point on, including how the situation transpired and what Wen's motivations were, are unclear at this time. In their official statement, as reported by outlets like ABC 7 News, law enforcement sources said that a report about the altercation was made and Wen was arrested without incident.
Wen now faces charges of menacing and endangering the welfare of a child. Menacing is a misdemeanor charge in New York state, and sentencing can vary between 90 days and one year in jail, depending on the circumstances. Endangering a child, meanwhile, is a class A misdemeanor, and can result in a year of jail time.
Wen was arraigned on Sunday at the First District Court in Hempstead. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Newsweek reached out to the Nassau County Police Department via email for comment.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more