J.H.S. 194 Photo By Vinny DuPre

A 22-year old man twice last week threw bottles filled with flammable liquid on the front steps and at a wall of the junior high school he is said to have attended as a young teenager. Konstantinos Mavrikos, whose address was given as  149-16 19th Ave., on Thursday, March 6, threw a bottle of a liquid at a wall of J.H.S. 194. The bottle exploded and the wall was charred. Mavrikos fled, but returned on Friday, March 7 and at about 12:56 p.m. threw another bottle of flammable liquid on the front steps of the school.

An onlooker wrote down Mavrikos’ license plate number and police quicklytraced him to his home, which is several blocks from the school. He wasarrested at 1:30 p.m., about an hour after he threw the bottle on Friday. Police of the 109th Precinct charged  him with arson, criminal mischief,  reckless endangerment and  endangering the welfare of a child, the last charge because children were in the school at the time of the second incident.

The school’s principal, Anne Marie Iannizzi, issued a statement on Friday
noting that at no time were students or school staff in any danger, that
police had made an arrest almost immediately and that students were
dismissed in an orderly fashion  I wish to thank the students, staff and
parents for their cooperation and am proud of the way everyone responded
to this emergency. I will send another letter home with students on Monday
and will also do a phone message to all homes this evening.