Lesson in Writing: “Ravenous” Russian Tourist Attacks Bystanders, Shot Dead By Police in Times Square
Don’t worry! This was a fake news conference on a made-up event for my reporting class, but it was such a great exercise that I had to share it!
Authorities now searching for escaped bite victim inaccurately pronounced dead at Bellevue City Morgue.
By Diara J. Townes
New York City Mayor Angela Brecht-Velasquez stated this evening that a Russian tourist was shot dead today by police following an escalated physical altercation with a paid street performer and bystanders in Times Square.
Described by NYPD Lieutenant Seamus Gruen of the Emergency Services Unit as ‘ravenous,’ Ivor Pilotovich continued to attack the crowd and refused officer commands. The man was shot three times and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Fielding Aldrich reassured the public during the press conference, stating that “today’s event does not pose an immediate threat to the public. This appears to have been an isolated incident, and the health department and law enforcement officials are working to keep it that way.”
According to Mayor Velasquez, Pilotovich, accompanied by his wife Petra, arrived at JFK International Airport this morning at 6 a.m. The couple was in Times Square around 2 p.m. when they were approached by a Cookie Monster street performer for a paid photo opportunity.
Eyewitnesses stated that a physical altercation rose between an angered Pilotovich and the insistent performer. The tourist then attacked the surrounding crowd when some attempted to intervene, where one bystander was bitten by Pilotovich.
NYPD Officer Luke Perco drew his weapon and shot Pilotovich in the leg after the Russian tourist failed to comply with his orders to cease his attack, according to LT. Gruen. Pilotovich continued to approach Perco, resulting in two more shots, the second striking Pilotovich in the abdomen and the third a fatal shot to the head.
Officer Perco and the street performer suffered minor injuries, but both refused medical attention. The bite victim suffered cardiac arrest, officials stated during the press conference.
CPR was performed on the bite victim by the EMS team but was later pronounced dead at 3:08 p.m. at Bellevue hospital, stated Lt. Greun. Both victims were “transported immediately to the morgue.”
Bellevue hospital staff performed drug tests on Pilotovich that tested negative for narcotics and alcohol. Additional blood tests on Pilotovich’s body “showed an elevated white blood cell count, indicating that his immune system may have been fighting an infection,” stated Dr. Aldrich. But the tests were also negative for “a number of viral or bacterial illnesses.”
Blood samples were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, along with requests for an expedited delivery of their results.
While Pilotovich’s remains are secured, the bite victim’s body was captured “slowly leaving the morgue” on security footage, stated officials from the coroner’s office who went to examine the body at 4:40 p.m.
Dr. Stanley Sampson, chair of emergency medicine at Bellevue, believes the now missing victim experienced a rare medical phenomenon known as auto-resuscitation, which is defined as the unassisted return of spontaneous circulation following cardiac arrest and CPR. Dr. Aldrich did add, however, that “we are not sure what he died of because he got up, and left the morgue.”
This rare medical circumstance adds more confusion to the deadly incident, as the officer involved in the shooting has now been reported missing as well. Neighbors of Officer Perco told authorities that Perco and his family left their house not long after the officer returned home. His current whereabouts, in addition to the escaped bite victim, are unknown.
Lt. Gruen stated during the conference that there are 400 NYPD officers searching all five boroughs for the missing victim and Perco.
Nothing like a precursor to the zombie apocalypse to get your reporting skills kicked into high-gear. Read my review of this info gathering and reporting exercise and my other pieces on social journalism as I work on my writing and listening skills at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY!
