Justice D. Velez, 20, of the Bronx was vandalizing a card payment machine when he saw the officers coming and took off, said Lenis Valens, a Port Authority spokeswoman.
Velez tossed a small backpack as he led Officers Johan Quinde, Eric Arroyo, Frank DiMaggio and Jubil Oommen on a foot chase that ended on the upper roadway of the Washington Heights station, Valens said.
Inside the backpack was a loaded .38-caliber handgun, she said.
Velez was arrested and charged with illegal weapons possession, resisting arrest and criminal mischief. He remained held pending a court appearance in Washington Heights.
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