Boy, 14, held in assault
Cops say he’s one of three who beat autistic kid in subway
Cops have arrested a 14-yearold boy they say took part in the brutal hate-fueled beating of a 15-year-old autistic boy in an upper Manhattan subway station that was caught on video and went viral on social media, police said Wednesday.
Investigators took the teen into custody late Tuesday, charging him with misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment and menacing.
Police said the boy was one of three teens who pulled the boy off a northbound A train at the 181st St. Station near Fort Washington Ave. in Washington Heights around 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Video taken of the attack shows one teens handing the victim, sporting glasses and a blue-hooded sweatshirt, off to a teenage girl who grabs him by his sweatshirt and forces him to walk down the crowded platform.
“Walk!” the girl screams as her frightened victim tries to get back on the train. Commuters stare as she force-marches the boy down the platform.
After being shoved down the platform, the teen tries to break free, but the girl grabs his sweatshirt tighter.
“You runnin’!” she screams. “Why you runnin’!”
As a crowd gathers, several onlookers start screaming “N——alert!” as the victim, who is Black, tries to break free one more time and jumps back on the train.
“Get off!” the teenage girl screams before slapping him in the face.
“Why do you want me to get off?” the teen asks meekly, taking a punch from another teen as he is pulled back to the platform.
When the teen tries to break free again, the teenage girl and two others assail him with haymakers and punches before the video ends.
After the assault, the victim gets on the A train to the Dyckman St. station, where police were told what happened.
The teen suffered bruises to his face and body, and his glasses were broken, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
Cops said Tuesday that they had identified all three teens in the attack.
The boy arrested late Tuesday was the first of the three to be taken into custody.
He was not charged with a hate crime because he didn’t say anything derogatory, a police source said.
His name was not released because of his age. He’s expected to be taken to Manhattan juvenile court to be arraigned, cops said.
The teen’s mother told WABC News that her child is autistic. She finds the video of her boy being beaten hard to watch.
“Nobody wants to see their kid being assaulted,” said the mom, who didn’t wish to be identified. When reached Tuesday, the mom declined to be interviewed.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force investigated the attack because racial slurs were thrown around during the attack. All of the assailants appear to be Hispanic, police sources said.
Outraged by the video, community leaders held an anti-bullying rally outside the 181st St. station Tuesday.
“I think it’s unacceptable to even feel that it’s OK to use that slur,” activist Rosemary Severino said at the rally. “The way that they were chanting, that’s what really broke my heart.”
Those at the rally described the victim as a “transit kid” who was fascinated with trains.
“We just enjoy the subway,” said Eduardo Medellin, 15. “We find happiness, our safe place in the subways. That’s how we make friends. We’re a community that enjoys transit.”
The other two teens involved in the attack remained at large Wednesday, police said.
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts was urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.