A Queens man was arrested for assault and attempted arson after allegedly violating an order of protection and tried to set himself on fire.
On March 6 at 10:30 p.m. a 25-year-old female victim was at the Fifth Precinct, located at 1655 Dutch Broadway in Elmont, filing a domestic incident report. As the victim was exiting the precinct, she saw Paul Mcewen, 50, who was the subject of the domestic incident, about to enter the precinct. The victim ran back into the precinct and requested police assistance.
While the defendant was standing in the vestibule, he allegedly started to pour a flammable liquid over his entire body. At this time, two police officers and one detective entered the vestibule and tackled Mcewen to the ground. McEwen was taken into police custody and was transported by a Nassau County Police Department Ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation. A Nassau County police officer was also transported to a local hospital for injuries sustained while placing the defendant into police custody. No other injuries were reported.
Police charged McEwen with Assault in the Second Degree, Attempted Arson in the Second Degree and three counts of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree. He will be arraigned at First District Court once he is medically cleared.