One man is on several naughty lists after he allegedly stabbed an individual on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in New York, only to be captured by several Santa Claus impersonators who were in town for SantaCon.
The incident happened Saturday evening while the train was passing through Queens, police told NBC New York. A 45-year-old man allegedly pulled out a knife during a dispute with several others and stabbed a 22-year-old man in the leg.
Video captured at the scene and posted on Twitter shows the suspect fighting with several people dressed as Santa Claus. The Santas eventually pin the suspect down after hurling insults that would likely make Mrs. Claus blush.
“Just so everyone’s clear, the guys in the Santa costumes did not start this,” wrote Twitter user @Kayla__Jaclyn, who posted the video on Saturday. “The old drunk man enticing them did.”
WARNING: The following video contains coarse language and violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
The video shows several Santas getting involved in the fracas, but one young Claus stood out for his incredible multitasking abilities. The young man wrestles the suspect with his right hand while holding a pizza slice on a plate with the other.
“How that slice maintained its composure on that plate is beyond me!” wrote Twitter user @Salvato96788512.
“That guy had a death grip on his slice of pizza!” Merri Jacobs added.
The men eventually pinned the suspect down until they reached the next stop. He was arrested at the scene, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) police told local station PIX11.
Greg Ewald, 21, says he and his pizza-loving friend got into a fight with the suspect because he appeared to be drunkenly harassing women on the train.
“We told him to stop screaming at the girls, you can’t be talking to girls like that at all,” he told News 12 Long Island on Sunday. Ewald can we seen wearing a forward-facing red baseball cap in the video.
“We definitely didn’t know he had a weapon,” Ewald said. “We thought he was just a drunk guy.”
The suspect is facing charges of assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, police told News 12 Long Island.
The incident took place during SantaCon, a Christmas-inspired pub crawl that happens every year in many cities, including New York. Participants get into the holiday spirit by drinking spirits, beer or wine while dressed as Santa Claus.
New York City draws hundreds of Santas for the largest version of the event each year, much to the chagrin of some locals.
“Ahhh, SantaCon, the event no native New Yorker participates in because we hate it,” wrote @TheRealOmgItsGB.
“NYC SantaCon should be scrap,” added another user.
One user seemed to find a balanced reading of the situation.
Despite the local grumbling, many still enjoyed seeing SantaCon participants trying to keep the peace rather than causing trouble.
“The Santas are the good guys here,” Twitter user Jaclyn M. Smith wrote. “They stopped a guy who stabbed someone.”
“Don’t promote fighting,” added Erik Kondak, “But atta boy for saving the pizza.”
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