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On Thursday, August 24th, 2023, around 5:50 p.m., Officers at Destiny USA responded to a suspicious person with a weapon complaint. A visitor to the mall reported seeing a white man, in his 20's, drop a revolver as he was exiting a vehicle in front of the mall. The man reportedly picked the weapon up off the ground and placed it into his waistband before walking into the mall.
Officers began reviewing security cameras in an attempt to identify the man. Officers Coleman, Ristau and Heri began searching for the suspect inside the mall, while Officer Goldberg reviewed security camera footage, and provided the other Officers with a picture of the suspect.
On the first floor of the mall, Officer Heri observed two men who matched the suspects description on the security footage. The men were walking towards the exit near the Carousel entrance. When the men spotted the Officers, they began to walk towards them. Officer Coleman directed one of the men, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Flynn, to move towards a corner area, where he could be frisked. Officer Ristau found a loaded HNR Sportsman .22 Long Rifle inside Flynn's waistband. Flynn also had a black shoulder bag, which contained two folding pocket knives, and a small amount of different pills, determined to be suboxone, ambien and xanax.
Other Officers searched the teen who was with Flynn, and found a 'sawed off' loaded Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works 12 gauge shotgun inside a backpack that he was carrying.
Both Flynn and the teen were taken to the Public Safety Building. Flynn was charged with Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree. The 17-year-old was charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Firearm​. Flynn was lodged at the Onondaga County Justice Center, while the teen was lodged at Hillbrook Detention Center.
We would like to thank all of the Officers working at Destiny USA for their quick response to this incident, which helped to take two guns off of City streets. This is a great example of when you see something, say something, and call 911.
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