A 13-year-old Ecuadorian migrant, along with three unidentified individuals, is alleged to have assaulted a man near Times Square on a recent Sunday evening, as per police records. The incident took place around 9 p.m. at the intersection of West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue. The group reportedly asked a 23-year-old man to take their picture, and when he declined, they assaulted him. The man was punched in the face and stabbed in the back and leg with a brass-knuckle knife.
The group also attempted to steal the man’s cellphone, but their attempt was unsuccessful. After the assault, they fled the scene. However, the police, working with the victim, managed to apprehend the 13-year-old boy after a search of the surrounding area.
ViralNewsNYC first reported the assault. The arrested teenager, whose last known address is the Roosevelt Hotel, an area known for its high crime rate, was charged with second-degree robbery. The victim refused medical treatment, with authorities noting that his stab wounds were not severe.
The three other suspects, who are still at large, were last seen dressed in all-black attire and black face masks. The arrested teenager has a prior arrest record. He was previously arrested on October 26 in relation to a chain snatching incident on a northbound F train at McDonald Avenue and Avenue X in Brooklyn. In that incident, four other suspects were involved, and the victim, who was asleep before the robbery, attempted to resist the attackers.
This incident follows recent remarks by NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies, Michael Lipetri, who stated that the department is seeing an unprecedented number of juvenile arrests. Lipetri pointed out that many of these young offenders are involved in multiple robberies and are usually processed under Family Court statutes.