Teen Confused About Gun Laws Arrested With AK-47 In NYC

Officers patrolling a Times Square subway station on Friday arrested an 18-year-old Ohio boy with an AK-47 and a loaded magazine.

The New York Police Department said Saadiq Teague, the accused, hailed from Canal Winchester near Columbus, and was arrested on Friday afternoon for possession of weapon and ammunition.

Teague was sitting at a subway station charging his phone while holding the unloaded AK-47 in front of him, a law enforcement source told CNN. The AK-47 was unloaded, placed in front of him, but the teen had a fully loaded magazine, as well as a gas mask, in his bag, according to the New York Post.

He had posted multiple expletive-laced videos on Instagram barely moments before his capture, and midway through the video, an unloaded assault rifle can be seen on his backpack.

Saadiq Teague has been identified as the son of Andrew Teague who was a criminal killed in a shootout with Ohio police last month. Following a dramatic chase on Interstate270, authorities shot and killed Andrew, 43, in Columbus, Ohio, on March 5. Before the fatal encounter, cops said they were intending to apprehend Teague on a felony assault warrant stemming from an incident on Feb. 2, according to New York Post.

Andrew was arrested after he drove on the wrong side of the highway during the chase and crashed into two other vehicles. He exited his vehicle and was killed in the exchange of gunshots with a Columbus police officer. He had a long list of misdemeanors and violations of laws including domestic violence, drug trafficking, burglary, and possession of weapons.

The mother of the 18-year-old said her son wasn't contemplating any crime and simply thought it would be acceptable to visit New York with an assault weapon in his possession as he was unaware of the rules in the city. “I BEG of the media to quit painting a bad picture of my son who was misinformed of the gun laws in NY,” Teague’s mother told a New York Daily News.

Saadiq was indicted without incident on the mezzanine floor of the subway station off the A, C, and E lines around 12:30 p.m. According to the NYPD, Teague is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and criminal possession in the third degree associated with a magazine.

According to Detective Annette Shelton, Teague was also charged with illegal possession of drug paraphernalia in the second degree. The teen told police that he thought it was legal to carry an unloaded rifle in New York, a police source said.

The FBI has also been involved in the investigation.