A/L
By Mirna Alsharif and Brittany Kubicko
A Wikipedia conference in New York City took a bizarre turn Friday after an Ohio man draped in a sign declaring him to be an “anti-contact non-offending pedophile” got onstage with a gun and threatened to kill himself.
WikiConference North America 2025 kicked off at 9 a.m. at Civic Hall, a community center in Manhattan. During the opening ceremony, a man with a gun jumped onto the stage and pointed his weapon at the ceiling before being tackled by conference organizers, according to police and a Wikipedia spokesperson.
The man, whom police did not identify, was later taken into custody, the Wikipedia spokesperson said.
The man wore a multicolored sign around his neck that read “anti-contact non-offending pedophile,” according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter. The sign bore the colors of a flag that has been used in recent years by people who identify as “MAPs,” or “minor-attracted persons.”
He also allegedly had the flag representing “MAPs” draped on his back bearing the same message.
According to John Hopkins University, nonoffending pedophiles “are a unique population of individuals who experience sexual interest in children, but despite common misperceptions, have neither had sexual contact with a child nor have accessed illegal child sexual exploitation material.”
The incident, and a possible motive, remain under investigation.
Wikipedia canceled all events Friday “due to unforeseen circumstances,” adding that the conference is expected to resume Saturday, the online encyclopedia said on its website.
In a statement, Wikipedia said that conference participants are safe and that it thanks those who stepped in to help Friday.
“The rest of today’s program is cancelled, and there will be additional security as well as law enforcement onsite for the remainder of the event,” it said.
Wikipedia would not share if the man was affiliated with the online encyclopedia in any way. The conference started on Thursday and will end on Sunday, per Wikipedia’s website.
WikiConference North America is an annual conference organized “by and for Wikipedia editors, enthusiasts, and volunteers,” according to its website. The first conference was hosted in New York City in 2014.
By Mirna Alsharif and Brittany Kubicko
A Wikipedia conference in New York City took a bizarre turn Friday after an Ohio man draped in a sign declaring him to be an “anti-contact non-offending pedophile” got onstage with a gun and threatened to kill himself.
WikiConference North America 2025 kicked off at 9 a.m. at Civic Hall, a community center in Manhattan. During the opening ceremony, a man with a gun jumped onto the stage and pointed his weapon at the ceiling before being tackled by conference organizers, according to police and a Wikipedia spokesperson.
The man, whom police did not identify, was later taken into custody, the Wikipedia spokesperson said.
The man wore a multicolored sign around his neck that read “anti-contact non-offending pedophile,” according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter. The sign bore the colors of a flag that has been used in recent years by people who identify as “MAPs,” or “minor-attracted persons.”
He also allegedly had the flag representing “MAPs” draped on his back bearing the same message.
According to John Hopkins University, nonoffending pedophiles “are a unique population of individuals who experience sexual interest in children, but despite common misperceptions, have neither had sexual contact with a child nor have accessed illegal child sexual exploitation material.”
The incident, and a possible motive, remain under investigation.
Wikipedia canceled all events Friday “due to unforeseen circumstances,” adding that the conference is expected to resume Saturday, the online encyclopedia said on its website.
In a statement, Wikipedia said that conference participants are safe and that it thanks those who stepped in to help Friday.
“The rest of today’s program is cancelled, and there will be additional security as well as law enforcement onsite for the remainder of the event,” it said.
Wikipedia would not share if the man was affiliated with the online encyclopedia in any way. The conference started on Thursday and will end on Sunday, per Wikipedia’s website.
WikiConference North America is an annual conference organized “by and for Wikipedia editors, enthusiasts, and volunteers,” according to its website. The first conference was hosted in New York City in 2014.
