PICTURED: Juan Gonzalez, 37, who scaled Santa Monica Pier’s famous Ferris wheel – and claimed he had a suicide bomb on him as he’s hit with a slew of charges
PICTURED: Juan Gonzalez, 37, who got off Santa Monica Pier’s famous Ferris wheel – and claimed he had a suicide bomb on him when he was hit with a string of charges
- Juan Gonzalez, 37, has been identified as the man who climbed the Santa Monica Ferris wheel and made bomb threats.
- After hours of negotiation, Gonzalez made it off the Ferris wheel and was detained by police
- He is being held at the Santa Monica Jail and will face the District Attorney
The California man who got off Santa Monica Pier’s famous Ferris wheel and claimed he had a bomb on him was identified Wednesday.
Juan Gonzalez, 37, of Ocean Grove, California, was charged with making a false bomb threat to authorities, resisting arrest and making criminal threats which is a felony.
On Monday around 2:35 p.m., Gonzalez got about two-thirds of the way up the Ferris wheel and claimed he had a bomb in his backpack.
There were about 10 riders on the wheel at the time, and the ride had to be stopped as Gonzalez was standing on the support structures.
At 4 p.m., Gonzalez was seen talking to police negotiators and appeared agitated and upset as he continued to make the bomb threats.
PICTURED: Juan Gonzalez as he climbed two-thirds of the way up the famous Santa Monica Ferris wheel on Monday afternoon. He had no harness on as he maneuvered around the structure and shouted bomb threats
Juan Gonzalez was seen sliding the Pacific Park Ferris wheel off the Santa Monica Pier on Monday around 2:35 p.m. He made several bomb threats while on the 85-foot-tall structure, but no explosives or weapons were found on him
Half an hour later he got off and was detained. He had no explosives or weapons on him.
Gonzalez, who was dressed in jeans, a blue tee shirt and Nike sneakers, appeared to be “in crisis,” according to police.
At 6:29 p.m., Santa Monica police tweeted: ‘The #SantaMonica pier is closed for police activity.
‘We have a subject who got on the ferris wheel. The subject was heard by witnesses who said he had a bomb.
‘Our officers are currently evacuating Pacific Park and the Pier and our crisis negotiation team are contacting the subject who appears to be in crisis.’
Photos on social media showed a heavy police presence.
“I can confirm that we have officers on the Pier contacting a subject in Pacific Park,” said Lt. Erika Aklufi, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Police Department, said.
While the ride came to a halt, the passengers on board had to stay there while the rest of the pier was evacuated.
In the initial 911 call, dispatchers were told there was a ‘distressed male subject’ climbing the 85-foot tall Ferris wheel.
Once Gonzalez was on the ground, he was taken into custody and evaluated by firefighters at the scene.
At 7:20 p.m., the police department posted a second tweet saying: ‘All media helicopters are being asked to take a higher altitude so the Negotiation Team can hear the subject.
‘The subject is no longer on the Ferris wheel and is in police custody. Please continue to stay away from the area as the investigation continues. More will be shared when available,’ Santa Monica Police Department posted at 7:32 p.m.
A police spokesman said KTLA 5 that the pier was ‘moderately busy’ at the time as it was a sunny beach day.
Brooke Martelli of Salt Lake City told DailyMail.com she was horrified to discover people were still on the Ferris wheel.
‘There is a mother with two small children. It’s so scary,” she said.
After hours of negotiations, Gonzalez got off the Ferris wheel and was tackled by officers before being arrested
Brooke Martelli of Salt Lake City was on the pier that day and told DailyMail.com she was horrified to discover people were still on the Ferris wheel. ‘We continued but then we were told to leave the theme park’
‘They’ve been there for over an hour. Thank goodness we weren’t on the Ferris wheel.
‘We continued, but then we were told to leave the theme park. This is crazy. I’m just worried about the young kids there.’
A statement from the Santa Monica Police Department said: ‘The Santa Monica Police Department thanks the members of the SMFD, Santa Monica Office of Emergency Management, and the professionals at the Pier and Pacific Park for their coordination and cooperation in the successful outcome of yesterday’s incident and subsequent arrest.’
Gonzalez was booked into the Santa Monica Jail and his case is expected to be presented to the district attorney for the filing of the menacing charge.