Booby Traps Near Dyker Beach Park Ensnare Man & His Dog [WARNING: GRAPHIC]

Booby Traps Near Dyker Beach Park Ensnare Man & His Dog [WARNING: GRAPHIC]
Photo by Eveline Cheung
Photo by Tao Cheung

Booby traps laid on the sidewalk near Dyker Beach Park have left one puppy shaken, and his owner with a deep finger wound.

Toa Cheung, a California man who is in town visiting his sister, says he received seven stitches at Maimonides Medical Center Sunday afternoon, after a fishing wire got tangled in his dog’s leash and then sliced open his finger on Bay 8th Street near Cropsey Avenue.

Tao’s sister Eveline said she and her brother first noticed the wire tied to several cars on 14th Avenue near Cropsey Avenue, as they left her nearby home at approximately 4pm. They quickly unravelled the string and notified a neighbor, tossing the wire into the trash, she told Bensonhurst Bean.

When the siblings returned home at 7pm, accompanied by their mini schnauzer Pepper, they ran into another trap on Bay 8th Street, but this time their dog’s leash had gotten tangled in the wire, and it was quickly tightening around his neck. As Tao untangled the pet, the unknowing driver of one of the rigged cars drove off, snapping the string against Tao’s finger. The cut was so deep, a hand specialist told them the tendon was partially torn, according to Eveline.

Photo by Eveline Cheung
Photo by Eveline Cheung

Eveline said that the placement of the wire looked deliberate.

“This is a sick person that was doing it,” she said. “There are a lot of kids in that park. It could be fatal.”

Since the incidents occurred between two different NYPD precincts, it is unclear if police have taken measures to rid the area around Dyker Beach Park of fishing line traps.

When cops from the 62nd Precinct arrived later Sunday night to check out the scene, Eveline says she showed them the string along Cropsey Avenue, 14th Avenue, and Poly Place, but when it came to string on the park-side of the street, they told her Dyker Beach was within the jurisdiction of the 68th Precinct. An officer assured her that cops from the neighboring precinct would follow up on Monday, Eveline said, however she claims she found more line on the island of sidewalk where Poly Place meets Cropsey Avenue and 14th Avenue the next day.

Photo by Eveline Cheung
Photo by Eveline Cheung

We reached out the the 68th Precinct for comment, but the woman who answered the phone was unable to find a reckless endangerment report under the reporting party’s last name.

We did get through to 62nd Precinct Commanding Officer Anthony Sanseverino, who told us he believes the tripwire — which was wound around the car mirrors and then tossed into nearby trees — is the handiwork of pranksters, but with little evidence, it will be hard to track down the culprits.

“This is something I’ve never heard of before. Unfortunately, It’s a terrible prank that could be very dangerous,” he said. “If it happens again, we will send patrols to the area.”

Sanseverino added that he intends to reach out to the victim, and will send cops to scope out the park as a precautionary measure.

Tao Cheung nearly had his finger severed by fishing line at Dyker Beach Park. (Photo by Eveline Cheung)
Tao Cheung nearly had his finger severed by a fishing line near Dyker Beach Park. (Photo by Eveline Cheung)

Update [1pm]: Police have confirmed that there is an ongoing reckless endangerment investigation.

Correction [1:48pm]: An earlier version of this article stated that the incident happened on Bay 7th Street. Police have confirmed it occurred on Bay 8th Street. The post has been amended to reflect this.