A Bronx man was arrested yesterday after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and then held a knife to his baby's neck. Russel Rivera Jr. was in a heated stand-off with police around 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday: "He had the baby in his arms and a big knife, a butcher's knife. The baby was crying. It was pouring. The baby had no clothes on, just Pampers," witness Edna Rivera told the News. more ›

Yesterday we told you about an unfolding hostage situation at Arrow Wine and Liquor Store in Flatlands, Brooklyn. This morning additional details about the harrowing event have come to light. It appears that the two robbers—Ted Peters, 23, and Andrew Philson, 25—weren't the brightest bulbs in the pack. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] A robbery and potential hostage situation is currently unfolding at Arrow Wine & Liquor. ABC News reports that witnesses alerted police to a robbery at 1:30 p.m. and at least one suspect is remaining in the liquor store as of 3 p.m. Dozens of NYPD officers are reported as being on the scene. more ›

We're sensing a trend; if someone runs a red light, chances are they're up to something much worse. A 26-year-old father has been arrested after running a red light, leading cops on a chase that ended in his holding his 2-month-old son "hostage" and setting his family's Christmas tree on fire. Tredon Mann was charged with felony assault, assaulting an officer and arson after the debacle, which began last night with him running a red light at a Flatbush intersection and smashing his car into another van. more ›

Update, 5:15 p.m.: DCist reports that Lee was shot. Here's what Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said, "He took three people hostage, near the lobby area of the entrance to the building. Over the past several hours, we've been in negotiations with the man. Approximately ten minutes ago, the suspect was shot by police officers. A device appeared to go off, we haven't confirmed that as of this time, we saw some smoke, may have heard a pop, haven't confirmed all that as of yet. There were three hostages, all of the hostages are safe and out of the building." more ›

A Queens man was arrested and charged with coercion and harassment after holding his ex-girlfriend's Facebook profile hostage. Paul Franco changed Jessica Zamora-Anderson's sexual preference on her page, and then demanded cash if she wanted to regain control of her account. And it turns out Franco has a history of being a totally weird, manipulative guy. more ›

Last night, a Connecticut advertising executive surrendered to the police after a frightening standoff in which he kidnapped his wife, demanded a priest come and give her last rites, and then asked for a judge to re-marry them. Around 8:30 p.m., Nancy Tyler managed to leave the South Windsor house that ex Richard Shenkman was supposed to turn over her as part of divorce settlement, but the Post reports, "Dozens of gunshots and explosions were then heard at the home, which was soon engulfed in flames." Shenkman, who had asked police to shoot him, finally gave up around midnight. He also made his demands through a reporter for the New London Day, who previously covered his wife and him, and seemed to confide in the reporter: "If I wanted to do a murder/suicide, I could have done it three years ago. I've never hurt her in my life. I do want Nancy to walk out of here. I don't trust the cops. They have screwed up so much in the arson (case) and all that stuff." Police are at the home today investigating whether the home really had all the 65 pounds of explosives Shenkman said it did. He will probably be charged with kidnapping, arson, and reckless endangerment. more ›

After the U.S. Navy killed three Somali pirates holding an American container ship captain hostage, pirates have seized four ships in 48 hours. BBC News reports the most recent was a Greek-managed ship with 22 Filipino crew members. NATO Lt. Commander Alexandre Fernandes told Reuters news agency, "There was only three minutes between the alarm and the hijack... They attacked at night, which was very unusual. They were using the moonlight as it's still quite bright." more ›

Yesterday morning, police killed a Bronx man who had been threatening to kill his family, allegedly saying, "I have to kill the children and my wife and send them to heaven. I don't care about killing myself and going to hell." Mauricio Jacques, 35, had been holding his wife with one hand while a 10-inch knife was in the other; their three children, ages 5 to 11, were also present. Cops had tried to negotiate with him for an hour; WCBS 2 reports that Jacques agreed to surrender but " then lunged with a 10-inch knife at officers, who tried to subdue Jacques with a stun gun and rubber pellets. Undeterred, he stabbed an officer in the abdomen of his protective vest and slashed another's vest near the neck." The cops used the Taser on him again, but that didn't stop him, so one cop grabbed his wife while two others fired six shots at Jacques. Last week, the police fatally shot a woman who slashed a police officer. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, a hostage standoff ended peacefully after police managed to get two men holding a grandmother at gunpoint to surrender. The situation, which unfolded at 505 East 184th Street in the Bronx, was initially a robbery. Police managed to rescue a couple and their 2-year-old son and arrested one suspect who tried to escape. Two men were still holding a 60-year-old woman, but after negotiations, the suspects finally "drop[ped] two guns in a bucket police lowered from the roof." One of the hostages told the Daily News one of the robbers "grew up with her in the same housing project," saying he was like a "brother" to her, "I'm very sad that he did this to me. And I'm very upset that he's going back to jail now." more ›

A middle-aged man held several workers hostage at Sen. Clinton's New Hampshire campaign office in the town of Rochester yesterday, before surrendering to police. The alleged bomb he had taped to his chest turned out to be simply a number of road flares. Leeland Eisenberg's motivation for seizing Clinton's field office is unclear, but he appears to be a disturbed individual. The New York Times declined to speculate on Eisenberg's purpose ("[Police] would not discuss... more ›

Yesterday morning's hostage standoff in the Bronx turned out to stem from an apparent love-triangle killing. Police had wanted to speak to Marlon Sanders, about a Monday night shooting in Queens. Jamal Leavy was fatally shot in South Jamaica, and police soon discovered that he and Sanders were both dating Shante Dalton, a city corrections officer. When police arrived at Dalton's Bronxdale apartment in their search for Sanders, she refused to let them in, prompting... more ›

WABC 7 reports that someone has been holding hostages in a Bronx home since 4AM. The suspect is holding an uncertain number of hostages (WABC says there may be multiple hostages; Fox 5 says one) at 2445 Williamsbridge Road in the the Bronxdale section. One of the hostages may also be an off-duty corrections officer (the apartment is rented by a corrections officer). The suspect's relationship to the hostage and demands are unknown, but police... more ›