On Sunday afternoon (October 26th), a dramatic incident occurred in Flushing, Queens, New York City, where a 30-year-old woman was seen holding a 5-month-old baby and attempting to jump into the East River in a suicide attempt. Fortunately, two retired police officers arrived on the scene just in time to rescue the mother and child, averting a tragedy.
Reported by the New York Post, the incident took place near Hermon MacNeil Park in College Point. At the time, retired NYPD 109th Precinct officer Kevin O’Donnell and former officer Paul Pinsdorf, who served in the force for 20 years, were participating in a Halloween parade volunteer event. Before noon, they heard screams and someone shouting, “You guys, come over here!” prompting them to rush towards the riverbank.
O’Donnell recounted that he saw the woman carrying the baby walking into the East River, with the water reaching her chest and the baby’s head barely above water. In a desperate move, Pinsdorf immediately took off his jacket and jumped into the river, trying to pull the mother and child back to the shore. O’Donnell remembered that the woman resisted the rescue at first, but Pinsdorf eventually succeeded in pulling her and the baby out from the water.
The two men worked together to pull the woman out of the water. Emergency medical personnel and police officers quickly arrived to assist. The woman was taken to North Shore University Hospital for treatment, while the baby was transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital.
From the photos in the report, the woman appears to be of Chinese descent. Authorities are continuing to investigate the details of the incident. Police have stated that the woman’s identity and the reasons behind her attempt to jump into the river remain unclear at this time.