Broadway carjacking ends up being much ado about nothing

A reported carjacking involving a child on Broadway near Manhattan College on Tuesday ended up being nothing more than a false alarm.

Police said they responded to a robbery around dinnertime July 24 that claimed a man (or two men) took a 2018 Honda Civic at the 1 train station at West 242nd Street. Not only was the car taken by gunpoint, according to initial reports, but there also was a child in the backseat, which was believed to be 7 years old.

More than a dozen police officers from the 50th Precinct responded, rushing to the intersection of Broadway and Manhattan College Parkway. Police in Yonkers and Westchester County also were notified, since reports were that the car was heading north on Broadway. 

The reports, however, turned out to be false. After 10 on Tuesday night, New York Police Department officials said the entire story of a carjacking had been recanted by the original witness. There was no robbery, no crime. 

Although the unidentified man who initially made the claim will not be charged, police said he received treatment for an apparent mental illness.