An emotionally disturbed Bronx man was caught carrying matches, a half-full gas can and a book written by the son of a terrorist around Rockefeller Plaza as he ranted and raved against police, cops said.
Yuriy Alterman, 38, was arrested Monday afternoon in the shadow of the Rockefeller Center tree after witnesses told cops that he was acting erratically yelling, “F–k the NYPD!” and in one instance hurling a glass bottle, according to law enforcement sources.
Authorities found Alterman near a building at Sixth Avenue and 48th Street and followed him to 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza before taking him into custody, the sources said.
“Sometimes you guys do things that make others do things, even though that’s not who we are,” Alterman allegedly told the officers. “Have you seen the news today?”
Police said that despite the danger of the situation, Alterman never actually intended to set anything on fire.
Sources told The Post that he was carrying about a gallon of gas at the time of the incident, which he picked up at 10th Avenue.
The book in his possession “Son of Hamas” was written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, who is the son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef.
Mosab Yousef’s father was one of the founding members of the terror group before he became an informant for Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, in 1997.
The book outlines the elder Yousef’s time in Hamas and also provides insight on what it was like for his son to grow up as a terrorist.
Alterman was slapped with felony charges of making a terroristic threat, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct.
