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New York heights-scaling Instagram teenager arrested by NYPD for 'trespassing' and 'reckless endangerment'

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

September 30, 2014 | 3 min read

An adrenaline-junkie teenager famous on Instagram for scaling the dizzying heights of New York buildings has been arrested by the NYPD after officers used the pictures as evidence of trespassing.

This image was taken by the youth a week ago

The unnamed teen, who has just under 8,000 Instagram followers on his account called ‘demidism’ has been reigned in by police for his climbs, being charged with trespassing and reckless endangerment.

The self-professed “urban historian” grabbed the attention of social media users after he climbed the 1,398 feet 432 Park Avenue structure, New York’s second-tallest building - however his snaps also brought the NYPD to his doorstep.

The arrest, which was first spotted by NBC New York, comes during a crackdown of one-upping urban photographers - who are putting their lives at risk with the ascents.

The rising number of urban explorers may become a problem for the photo-sharing site with kids being put in danger trying to out-do each others' images.

Of course the site does not only function as a storage place for stunning images, its use as a platform for Hong Kong-based pro-democracy protesters this weekend saw it banned throughout the whole of mainland China.

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