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Musician Tackles Fleeing Burglar in West Village

By DNAinfo Staff on July 20, 2010 10:49am

West Village hero and Radio 4 drummer, P.J. O'Connor (Far Right), posed for a picture on the band's MySpace page.
West Village hero and Radio 4 drummer, P.J. O'Connor (Far Right), posed for a picture on the band's MySpace page.
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MySpace/Mike Trentalange

By Olivia Scheck

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — P.J. O'Connor's decision to tackle a West Village thief as he fled police Sunday night proved that heroism runs in the family.

O'Connor, a musician, is the younger brother of Michael O'Connor, one of three men who pinned down a crazed gunman as he opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road train in 1993, the New York Post reported.

Like his hero brother nearly two decades ago, P.J. was faced with a split-second decision, when he spotted convicted burglar, Donald Kelly, fleeing police on Eighth Avenue, the paper said.

"It happened so fast, I had about three seconds to decide if I could handle this," O'Connor told the Post.

But when the time came to act, O'Connor, a drummer who resembles the British actor Colin Firth, followed his gut, grabbing the criminal by the legs and holding him until the cops could catch up, according to the Post.

Kelly, 18, was charged with burglary, accused of having stolen cell phones and other items from the SoHo House hotel on Ninth Avenue, the paper said.