Quantcast

Gravesend jumper steps down

Gravesend jumper steps down
Photo by Paul Martinka

They talked him off the ledge, literally.

A Gravesend man who threatened to jump off the seventh story of an apartment building on East 3rd Street voluntarily surrendered after a two-hour standoff with police on Wednesday.

Residents who live in the building said they didn’t see it coming.

“I was shocked,” said Dennis Pevko. “I’ve seen the guy here and there — he’s pretty shy.”

Cops and firefighters from as far away as Queens and Staten Island responded at about 2:55 pm and found the man sitting on the seventh-story fire escape, threatening to jump to his death, police said.

Firefighters unrolled a giant, inflatable landing pad as a precaution in case the unidentified man jumped, fire officials said.

At around 5 pm, he voluntarily surrendered and came down from his perilous perch, according to police.

He was not injured, but was taken to Coney Island Hospital for observation, fire officials said.

Reach reporter Max Jaeger at mjaeger@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8303. Follow him on Twitter @MJaeger88.