A man threatened a 5-year-old boy with a baton after the youngster bumped into him onboard a subway train in Manhattan, police said.
The incident occurred around 2:20 p.m. on a southbound No. 4 train on the Upper East Side, according to police. The boy's 29-year-old mother said that her child accidentally kicked the 67-year-old man while on the train.
"You know kids, they don't stay still on the train and I guess (the suspect) just has a temper," said Kayla McCutchen.
The mother then said something to the suspect, who responded by taking out a retractable baton and asked her, "Do you want to get hurt?" police said. McCutchen said that the weapon looked like the ones police officers carry.
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Witnesses said that the quick actions of strangers who jumped on the man and pulled him off the train prevented the situation from potentially getting much worse. McCutchen said before the man could swing, riders went at the man and wrestled the baton away, holding him on the 86th Street station platform until police arrived.
The man was put into handcuffs and taken into custody without incident.
The suspect's identity has not been released, and nobody was hurt in the altercation. It was not clear what charges the man might possibly face.
