16 Year Old Daredevil Sneaks To The Top of One World Trade Center
There will likely be lots of people who want to visit One World Trade Center when it opens to the public. One teen wasn't keen on waiting for the new building to be flooded with tourists though... he decided to take an early tour.
Weehawken, New Jersey native Justin Alexander Casquejo has long been captivated by the 1,176-foot skyscraper; so much that he decided to leave home in the middle of the night and sneak pass security to climb to the building's roof and snap photos.
"I was walking around the construction site and figured out how to access the Freedom Tower rooftop," said Casquejo to police.
The skinny 16-year-old managed to crawl through a 12 by 12-inch hole in a construction fence. From there, he encountered a worker who gave him a lift to the 88th floor. After hiking the rest of way up, Casquejo easily slipped pass a security guard who was dead asleep.
Casquejo spent the next two hours taking pictures around the building's spire, after which he was caught by a construction supervisor on his way back down.
"He came here and he ran hog wild," said a One WTC worker.
The sleeping guard has since been fired, while the elevator operator has been reassigned.
Many were shocked that one kid could so easily infiltrate the World Trade Center. According to an article in the New York Times, One WTC has an estimated $20 to $40 million security system "that includes closed-circuit television, coupled with video analytics to detect abnormal situations; digital recorders; access control systems; provisions for chemical, biological and radiation detection; a fiber-optic backbone and network; and related electrical infrastructure."
Clearly such a costly security system could stand to use some improvements.
When asked about this adventure by the New York Post, the young daredevil laughed about it.
"Ha ha, oh yeah, that. Right," he said. "I would really love to talk to you guys because I have a lot that I want to say about it. I was told that I just can't [talk] without permission."
He did however express his feelings about the experience with a one-word tweet: "Inspired."
Casquejo is facing a misdemeanor charge for trespassing. Meanwhile, officials have promised to beef up security measures.