A motorist stopped with a trove of guns and knives in his car while
heading into the Holland Tunnel en route to New York City claimed to
police he was rushing to "rescue" a teenage girl who recently overdosed,
sources said.
Police recovered seven guns — including rifles and handguns — as well as
four knives, 10 clips of ammunition, body armor and a military-grade
helmet from the bright-colored truck owned by John Cramsey, a police
source said.
The number of weapons in the car raised suspicions, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force was called, but two law enforcement officials told ABC News there does not appear to be a link to terrorism.
The reason for the large number of weapons was not immediately clear.
Cramsey was stopped during Tuesday morning's rush hour at the New Jersey
toll plaza for the tunnel — which runs from Jersey City to lower
Manhattan — with two others, a man named Dean Smith and a 29-year-old
woman.
Cramsey -- whose own daughter died from an accidental heroin overdose,
according to the medical examiner -- told police he was driving to New
York City to "rescue" a 16-year-old girl from a drug den, sources said.
An employee at a Pennsylvania gun range owned by Cramsey told ABC News
that ever since his daughter’s recent death, Cramsey has been on a
mission to save others from a similar fate.
A police source said the teenager Cramsey claimed he was headed to save told authorities, “I don’t need to be rescued.”
Police stopped the group at the toll plaza Tuesday morning because their
car had a cracked windshield, Port Authority Police said.
A Port Authority police officer then spotted a gun on a seat in the car, officials said.
All three suspects were charged with weapons possession and are being held at the Hudson County, New Jersey, jail