Man Arrested for Apparently Firing Gun Off Boat

A Harbor Isle man was arrested on Friday for criminal possession of a weapon after he apparently fired a rifle into the ocean while on his sailboat about two miles off the coast of Atlantic Beach, police said.

Marine Bureau police officers responded to a 911 call that was generated for a vessel in distress that was possibly shooting off flares on Friday afternoon, according to police. Officers located and spoke with the sailboat’s operator, Frederick Schenker, 62, and it was revealed that around 2:10 p.m. he was allegedly firing his AR 15 rifle, which fits the criteria of an assault rifle.

Schenker and his vessel were escorted to the Woodmere Yacht Club in East Rockaway, where he was taken into custody. He is charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and was scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.