DITMARS — A Queens dad brought a pellet gun to an Astoria playground crowded with kids, cops said.
Zbigniew Pawlowski, 54, was charged with reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a BB gun, resisting arrest and felony assault of a police officer, according to cops.
Details of the alleged assault were not immediately available.
Astoria City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. said the incident took place Tuesday at Ditmars Park, a playground on Steinway Street off Ditmars Boulevard. It was first recounted on the neighborhood blog QueensMamas.com, but the post has since been removed.
Vallone said panicked parents called his office Tuesday afternoon saying Pawlowski, who was with his children, had been wielding and firing the realistic-looking toy gun at the park, frightening bystanders who thought the fake weapon was the real thing.
"It wasn't a dangerous gun, but it was still a scary-looking gun and it should in no way have been on a playground," Vallone said.
He said he met with Pawlowski's wife after the incident, whom he described as "apologetic."
Pawlowski was arrested Wednesday, cops said. He and his wife told CBS New York they thought the other parents were overreacting, the news station reported.
The Queens District Attorney's office did not have immediate details on the arrest.
