SAA event in New York, United States of America on Wed 12th June 2024

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — Authorities are investigating a possible terror plot after a man was found with multiple weapons during a car stop in Queens on Wednesday, according to the NYPD.

Judd Sanson, 27, was arrested after officers found a mask, a ballistic vest with NYPD on it, knives, two axes, handcuffs, a machete, ammunition, an MTA vest, a gun, and a hatchet in a black Ford Explorer near 86th Street and Ditmars Boulevard at around 1:30 a.m., sources and police said.

The cops were patrolling the area in an unmarked car when they spotted the ghost car with a blacked-out license plate, authorities said. The officers searched the truck and also recovered nine loaded magazines, heavy body armor, a stun gun, multiple knives, and a weighted whip. There were also some written messages in the vehicle, police said.

“He was heavily armed … very dangerous for our community,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Madrey said.

The New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and other law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation, sources said.

“It’s too early to tell (if it’s a terror threat),” Maddrey said.

Sanson has been charged with criminal possession of a firearm, nine counts of criminal possession of a weapon, four counts of ammunition feeding device, and obscuring a plate, police said. The suspect has a prior arrest for graffiti.

The investigation is ongoing.

Authorities said 683 ghost cars have been seized this year.