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Subscribe to RSSA mother and grandmother tackled an apparent stranger who tried to throw their two children in front of a moving train as they waited at an NJ Transit station in New Jersey Monday afternoon, police said.
The family was waiting for the train at the Main Street Station in Ramsey, N.J., according to police. As the train approached, the children moved closer to the tracks to get a better look.
Also at NBCNewYork.com: Man on drugs slits kids' throats, prosecutors say
Police say a man named David Howard allegedly then walked up to them, took one by the neck and the other by the shoulder, and led them closer to the train tracks.
Police say Howard allegedly tried to push the children in front of the train as it approached the station. At that point, the kids' mother and grandmother intervened, tackling Howard to the ground and freeing the children, police said.
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The women continued to restrain Howard while a bystander called 911 just before 2:30 p.m. ET, police said. When police arrived at the train station a short time later, the women were still on top of him.
Police say Howard did not resist arrest, but he did spit in one of the responding officers' faces.
Police are investigating a possible motive for the assault, and say Howard was under the influence of something, though it wasn't clear what.
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Howard was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and aggravated assault of a police officer. He is being held on $500,000 bail.
Information on an attorney wasn't immediately available.
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Leave a Comment:
Good for mom and grandma. They should have tossed him in front of the train though...
agreed
What the hell is wrong with people these days? I can't even begin to imagine the thought process that makes throwing children in front of a train a good idea, much less actually ACTING on such a thought. Good thing mom and grandma were on the ball and could act fast enough to prevent the kids from being killed. The guy who did this is totally broken in the head and needs to be removed from society for good.
Now days everyone uses being mentally unstable or on drugs as an excuse. No personal accountability.
If he's a schizophrenic, he deserves to be found legally insane. And then locked up until he dies. Very few families can manage this level of crazy. He should be treated like the threat he is.
I agree with the part where you said good for them, they showed lots of courage and restraint. (no pun intended) They not only got a sick b*sta*rd off the street, the set a great example for the children!
I've never had anyone spit on my face but I get the feeling that if it were to happen to me I would go berzerk on the aggressor unless, of course it's a woman. In which case I'd scream my head off at her.
I much rather get punched than having someone's saliva dripping off my face. What a disgusting, disgusting thing to do that is.
Now all that has to be done is shoot the Zombie in the head !!!! That's the only way to rid the earth of them!!!
Stop this nonsense. Lock up ALL druggies.
Including the millions of "legal" druggies?
And the doctor/pushers that work for the American cartels.
What about old people like yourself on prescription drugs?
Sure,why not Anrkist, I'm with you !!! At least we would get better health care and not have to eat cat food !!
Dam the'll even pay for a sex change if you want one!!!
anrkist: I guess you're not smart enough to understand my comment. But you're willing to start an argument anyway. I'll try again, and type slow.
I do not approve of drug pushing doctors. I'm against ALL mind altering drugs. I do not take ANY drugs. I'm in my 70s, and work every day. So it must be working.
Wow, how is that Walmart greeter gig going?
We have the mom and grandmother accusing someone of attempted murder but the kids were walkng closed to the tracks and mom or grandma didn't have control of them. Yeah, good parenting. Maybe the guy was grabbing them to keep them from getting to close to the tracks because mom and grandma weren't paying attention.
@Common
How do you know ho close the kids were. Common sense says that since the parents had enough time to react to seeing a man lead their kids towards the train they must not have been very close to the edge to begin with.
People are waiting for the train, the train starts to roll into the station and 2 kids take a couple steps to see it closer. OMG lock the parents up for negligence. Why do ppl automatically start with the "control your kids better" ish . Kids are kids. If you ask me, they did a pretty good job with taking the guy down and controlling themselves, because that guy would have been lying on the tracks if it were me.
Most druggies these days have doctor as their dealer. Wake up, prescription meds are ruining our society. People who use recreational drugs do not do things like this.
Another way our tax paying money is flushed down the toilet...
Sounds like another drug addicted maniac who should be sent to an insane asylum where he'll become history.
He would indeed become history because it is doubtful that there any such facilities left in this country. LOL
They started closing down these mental institutions in the 1960s under the guise so that the patients could be cared for in the community setting, unfortunately that money also closed off too just like those institutions. Unfortunately these seriously mentally ill people are on the streets, some as those homeless folks one sees on the street pushing a shopping cart with all their belongings. Think they are going to house those homeless mentally ill folks in those now high priced condominiums, single family homes and townhouses etc that was once those mental institutions? Yeah.... right...LOL
Stablizing a mentally ill person then discharging them to the community is what is being done. So what if they cannot get their meds or is not taking them etc.... who cares... not the hospital's problem or anyone elses problem anymore is it?.
THe lack of understanding about mental illness and the blatant judgementalism and heartlessness that is spewed forth on these message boards are enough to make one realize that the mentally ill will find no sympathy or have their problems addressed anywhere in this country any time soon.
As it is now the rich can get their treatment at those private psych hospitals or 'rehabbed' to go home to a home where they will be cared for by family and even private nurses or be able to stay there for the rest of their lives in comfort, getting their therapies etc. While the poor .... well to heck with them.... they should not have been born this way anyway. They are just lazy useless people who do not want to work afterall, so why should anyone care after all. Lock em up, throw away the key, blah blah blah... is the usual refrain of the ignorant. Makes one think that that is the way you folks would treat a family member and the way they would treat you too.... heartlessly.
You all had better pray that you do not have a mental breakdown and go off the deep end, because it is doubtful that there will be anyone there to catch you..... especially if you do not have the money to pay for the catch... LOL
Peace.... here's to good mental health.......karma.....
BZe1--you got your dates wrong--Ronald Reagan dumped the mentally ill onto our streets.
Save the children. Get the druggies off the streets.
The guy needs to be prosecuted, but kidnapping for moving the kids 10 feet? And Aggravated assault on a police officer for spitting in the cops face? We need to prosecute what the guy did and not charge people with everything you can think of.
Yes, Kidnapping for grabbing and moving anyone anywhere. Read the law.
Yes, Aggravated Assault. People's spit and can carry Hep C, TB and other dangerous diseases.
I'm glad mom and grandma were able to save the kids and did not get hurt.
Exactly! Kidnapping for moving the kids ANYWHERE!
I just don't see how I could sit on top of someone who tried to throw my kids in front of a train until the police arrived. I would have been charged with attempted murder by then...
actually attempted homicide child endangerment child abuse and
assaulting an police officer (spitting on cop) would be a good start.
In cases like this they lay as many charges on a person as possible in hopes that one will stick.
bathsalts
The face of evil.
"Howard was under the influence of something, though it wasn't clear what."
More likely, Howard is a sociopath, and will say anything to redirect blame off of him and toward other people. Contrary to popular belief, intoxicated people, whether they're drunk or on drugs, are surprisingly cognizant, aware of their behavior, and behave with intent and purpose.
Trips that actually take away a person's perception of their surroundings are incapacitating. If a person is able to move at all, they have a higher risk of falling down stairs than attacking another person.
I'm very familiar with drug culture, what people use, its effects on people, and no drug on the planet has the effect of causing its user to throw children in front of trains. Not buying it.
Long story short, never believe anyone who says "the drugs made me do it".
Bwahaha. That was funny.
I was thinking the same thing. They guy knew what he was doing for sure. If you werent capable of doing stuff in a "normal" state then you probably wouldnt do it while on drugs...but at the same time prolonged use of some drugs will alter your "normal" state of mind permanently. There is a fine line between sane and insanity and there are a good chunk of ppl out there (friends and family included) who you would never know were riding that line until something, no matter how insignificant, pushes them over the edge.
first of all all the facts are needed to determine where this person was at mentally Mother and grandmother did right holding him until police came. They probably would have been charged with excessive force if they had killed him. then who would the kids have? they showed the kids there is a way to protect what is yours without committing a murder in front of them. yes in my opionion it would have been justified but the kids need to continue to respect thier mother and grandmother. Killing in front of children is not the answer nor will it ever b. Thank GOD the children did not have that nightmare to live with as well as the attempt that fool made by indangering their life.
I am not perfect I would give my life for my children and all of the little angels out there. All children deserve to be protected to the fullest
You got to be kidding me. WTF The Judge needs to be removed from the bench!
Might want to read up on how the law works.
Officers arrest bad guy, file initial charges
Detectives get involved and amend and/or add new charges
Detectives take the case to the District Attorney and they agree to take the case as is, or ask for changes
The judge hears about it when it appears on his docket
Clearly you don't have kids, or you would be asking for even higher charges. If anyone tried to KILL my children they'd be glad that all I did was detain them before the officers got there.
i am amazed at the restraint exercised by the mom & G-ma. I was hoping for a post script of 'accidentally beaten to death'
Any murder is an insane action so that argument should be thrown out. The only choice should be method of termination for the perp. providing they are found guilty at trial and given (1) one appeal within six months.
That's right. If it were me and my children or grandchildren, I would have accidentally thrown him in front of the train after rescuing my kids/grandkids. Would have saved a lot of time and money for the state, and given him no chance of "getting out on a technicality/insane plea/short sentence. Sounds like there were other witnesses who would have seen the incident grandma's way. I feel sorry for him if there are any mothers or grandmothers on his jury. He might as well plead guilty-he'd be better off.
I want to see video of how bad the kids were acting before he had enough of it and snapped. I have seen some horrible kids in public and the parents do nothing about it. Howard could be the victim here.
You cannot possibly be serious. Even joking about kids deserving to be murdered is sick. It's the ridiculous making light of violence (especially against children) that makes many in society believe that acting out violently is perfectly acceptable. Clearly you have no children or you'd never joke about kids deserving attempted murder. Do you have ANY idea how traumatizing that must be for those kids? Grow up!
I was not making a joke. I have three kids. Have you seen how bad kids act? And do you really believe these adults? Where is the video.
Joe, so lets punish them by throwing them in front of a train, I have no doubt that your kids are wild, they have a moron for a father.
To bad I was not there to help the ladies. If Ihad sat on the guy he would have had severe crush injuries. (The airlines make me pay for two seats.)
WOW, hey sick s.o.b., do you not realize the relationship between a mother, grandmother, and their offspring? Consider yourself lucky all you got was 'tackled'...my mom (my boy's g-ma) would have put a key through your eye for good measure.
who cares if he was under the influence? The courts will never be able to influence him not to take crap again, so lock him up before someone dies.
They should have punched him in the throat and finished the deal. Friggin lawyers will say he has rights, abused as a child, under the influence or some other bullsh*t story. If he were dead we'd just say amen.
Harsh but so TRUE !
Throw his a** in front of the train
he would have been under train when kids free
He is lucky to have them just sit on him..I would went pit bull on his @$$. The media would of had move coverage on a mauling. Now lets hope the druggie doesn't get off!
Dark Dungeon + Missing Key = Justice
And they want to legalize drugs?