A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection to a series of attacks on elderly Sheepshead Bay residents on Tuesday, police say.
The teen, who has not been named due to his status as a juvenile, was charged Friday with four counts of assault in the incidents, which took place during an approximately four-hour period on Tuesday, Sept. 28.
In the first incident, which was captured on surveillance video, a group of three teens including the 14-year-old were walking along East 27th Street when one stopped an 81-year-old man to ask where they could find the B44 bus. When the man stopped to give directions, the teen allegedly approached from behind and sucker-punched the elderly man, who suffered facial bruising but declined medical attention.
The group was captured on surveillance cameras in footage released by the NYPD on Thursday; the teen suspected to have performed the assault was wearing a Nike sweatshirt. Brooklyn Paper is declining to include the footage because the defendant is a minor.
Approximately 20 minutes after the East 27th St. assault, a 64-year-old man was walking near the intersection of Avenue U and East 29th Street when he was sucker-punched by a group of individuals, whom police say was the same group as before. The man also suffered facial bruising and was treated by EMS at the scene.
Three-and-a-half hours later, a 76-year-old woman was walking on Avenue Y between Haring and Brown streets when someone unknown to her, also alleged by police to be from the same group, began asking her a question, only to sucker-punch her as she answered the inquiry. The woman was treated by EMS on-site for facial bruising.
In another incident, for which police released video but not details, the teen in the Nike sweatshirt can be seen approaching a man riding a bike from behind and sucker-punched him before fleeing, causing the man to fall off his bike face-first onto the pavement. He broke his fall with his hands.
“These horrific attacks are an attack on our entire society,” said Steven Saperstein, Democratic nominee for City Council in District 48, where the attacks occurred, in a statement. “I’ve been in constant communication with 61st Precinct Commanding Officer, Captain Derby St. Fort and I thank him and his team for the work they do every single day. The people of our district should not have to live in fear simply walking down the street. This arrest will help put our community at ease but we have such a long way to go.”
Police would not say whether the teen was charged with felony or misdemeanor assault nor his current status, whether he had been released to his family’s custody or brought straight to family court, which typically hears cases involving juveniles. In more serious cases, a child can be detained overnight in an Administration for Children’s Services facility before being brought in front of a family court judge.
