New York City police officials on Tuesday announced an arrest in connection with a high-profile rape and robbery case involving two 13-year-olds at a Queens park last week.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a press briefing that police took 25-year-old Christian Inga-Landi into custody around 1 a.m. on Tuesday with help from local residents who recognized him at a deli in Forest Hills, based on photos the department had released on Monday, and who restrained him until police arrived.

He is being charged with rape, sex abuse, robbery, criminal weapons posession, kidnapping, and other crimes, according to police. The NYPD alleges that Inga-Landi forced a 13-year-old girl and boy at knifepoint into a secluded, wooded area of Kissena Park in East Flushing last Thursday, bound their hands with a shoelace and sexually assaulted the girl before fleeing with their cellphones. The teens were later treated at a local hospital and released, police said.

An attorney for Inga-Landi was not immediately available on Tuesday afternoon.

The case set off a massive manhunt throughout the neighborhood. Police put up flyers, analyzed surveillance footage, released a sketch and video images, and offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who could provide information to help locate the suspect.

Kenny said the details that police gleaned through interviews with the two 13-year-olds, who are classmates, and the actions of the local residents ultimately led to Inga-Landi’s arrest.

“We got numerous tips from Queens residents,” he said. “The tips came in via social media that gave us the perpetrator’s name [and] his Facebook account, which gave us pictures of him wearing the clothing he was wearing the same day that he committed the crime, as well as pictures of him with that distinguishable tattoo on his chest and matching clothing.”

Police caught up with Inga-Landi early on Tuesday morning after receiving a 911 call from local residents who said they were holding onto a man matching the description of the person whom the NYPD was looking for, according to Kenny.

Bystanders at a deli on 108th Street and 63rd Drive in Forest Hills were able to restrain Inga-Landi, possibly using a belt to keep him from running away, as he fought back against them, Kenny said. The deli is located several blocks south of Inga-Landi’s most recent address, which is near Kissena Park, per police.

Inga-Landi was treated at Elmhurst Hospital for minor injuries he sustained during the scuffle with residents, said Kenny. He added that Inga-Landi is an Ecuadorian national who entered the United States through Eagle Pass, Texas, in 2021 with a 3-year-old child. He was arrested and briefly detained there for entering the country illegally, and was eventually processed and released, according to Kenny.

The chief of detectives said Inga-Landi was never arrested before in New York City but received three summonses and interacted with NYPD officers in connection with a domestic violence incident in Queens where no arrests were made.

When he was asked about the assault, Inga-Landi waived his Miranda rights and made several statements, per Kenny. “He indicated that he has a drug problem, that he found the knife that he used to threaten the two teens, that this was the first time he had ever done anything like this,” said Kenny. “He IDs himself in a video that was shown to him.”

City Councilmember Sandra Ung, who represents Flushing and other parts of Queens, said the arrest was “only the beginning” of a process to improve safety in the area.

“Flushing residents have known for far too long that this section of Kissena Corridor Park can be dangerous and unsafe,” she said in a statement, adding that she is committed to working with Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and community members to ensure the park is safe for everyone.

This story has been updated with additional information.