Last Updated on 03/21/2014 by Chris Gampat
On Sunday, a 16-year-old New Jersey teen, has managed to best 3 layers of security personnel at the supposedly impregnable 1 World Trade Center and the security officials aren’t too happy about it.
The culprit is Justin Casquejo of Weehawken, NJ. Based on his Facebook page, it seems that he’s long been fascinated with the new structure, which was built at the site of the historic Ground Zero. Casquejo had already admitted to surveying the site and planning for the best way to get in without being caught.
Which he did. Around 4 am, he snuck into the site through a hole in the fence, got past the outer perimeter security, and got into an elevator where the operator took him to the 88th floor, no questions asked. From there, he went up to the 104th floor, snuck past a guard who was apparently sleeping on the job, and found his way to the roof where he spent two glorious hours taking photos with his camera and climbing the building’s spire.
In our opinion, either the NSA or the CIA should look into hiring this budding photographer-slash-daredevil or 1 World Trade Center isn’t so impregnable after all, seeing as Casquejo wasn’t caught (and by a construction worker at that) until he was already on his way back down from his escapades.
The incident, of course, was a major embarrassment for the Port Authority, the NYPD, and the NYC security firm, as they were all responsible for making sure that the site is secure from any terrorist attacks. And it seems they’re looking into prosecuting Casquejo for the otherwise harmless stunt. Or at least that was what Port Authority Chief Security Officer Joe Dunne had told the Associated Press, saying that they have to take all security breaches in this building seriously.
Casquejo was arrested for trespassing while his camera and phone have been confiscated. The sleeping guard on duty that morning has since been fired.
Via NBC New York