Hunter College professor arrested after threatening NY Post reporter with machete
BRONX, New York (WABC) -- A New York City artist and college professor who held a machete to a journalist's neck and threatened to chop him up was arrested Thursday on charges of menacing and harassment, according to police.
Things quietly went south at Hunter College earlier this month. At the time, Shellyne Rodriguez was a professor there and launched a profanity-laced tirade.
What set her off was a group of pro-life students handing out literature which, at one point, Rodriguez called propaganda.
She proceeded to swiftly toss a batch of pamphlets off their table. The encounter was caught on camera.
Once the footage got out, the New York Post sent a team to Rodriguez's apartment to investigate the incident further.
When they showed up at her door, Rodriquez was having none of it. She stepped out and held a machete up against the reporter's neck, allegedly threatening to chop him up.
Once outside, dash cam video captured the reporter and photographer walking away, but it wasn't over.
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Rodriguez appeared, wearing a black hoodie and holding that same extremely large knife.
The 45-year-old old then chased the photographer around his car and up the block. At one point, she allegedly kicked the reporter in his shins.
Hunter College immediately fired Rodriguez, who surrendered to police on Thursday morning. Rodriguez was also fired from SVA following the incident.
With a smirk on her face and supporters by her side, the artist and self-proclaimed activist left the 43rd Precinct in handcuffs.
Her next stop now is the courthouse.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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