Justin Casquejo Arrested For Climbing To Top Of World Trade Center After Sneaking Past Sleeping Security [PHOTOS]
Justin Casquejo, the New Jersey teen who managed to sneak past security and reach the spire of the World Trade Center, was arrested Sunday, Port Authority Police said.
Casquejo, 16, of Weehawken, crawled through a hole in a fence around the construction site at 4 a.m. on Sunday and scaled the scaffolding at 1 World Trade until he reached an elevator. He rode the tower lift and, according to the New York Post, donned a hardhat to appear as one of the construction workers working on site. Casquejo was reportedly allowed on the elevator up to the 88th floor by a “clueless union elevator operator” despite not having proper identification.
From the 88th floor, Casquejo climbed the stairs to the 104th floor, where a security guard was fast asleep. The sleeping security guard was fired, but the elevator operator was allowed to keep his job.
Police said Casquejo then climbed to the roof and then scaled the antenna. He stayed there for two hours, reportedly taking pictures. The lad was busted by a security guard and then arrested and charged with trespassing.
"We take security and these type of infractions extremely seriously and will prosecute violators," the Port Authority's chief security officer said in a statement Thursday. "We continue to reassess our security posture at the site and are constantly working to make this site as secure as possible."
Casquejo doesn’t seem to be taking the arrest seriously, telling police that it was easy to get through security at the WTC, which is supposed to be a “ring of steel.”
“I walked around the construction site and figured out how to access the Freedom Tower rooftop,” he said, according to his arrest report.
Casquejo had a similar attitude when discussing the prank with the New York Post on Wednesday.
“Ha ha, oh yeah, that. Right. I would really love to talk to you guys because I have a lot that I want to say about it,” he said. “I was told that I just can’t [talk] without permission.”
On Tuesday, he posted a one word update to his Twitter account: “Inspired.”
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