A 62-year-old resident of Staten Island has expressed his desire to leave the area after being viciously attacked by a group of teenagers during his evening walk last month.
The attack occurred on July 15, near the intersection of Howard Avenue and Clove Road in the Sunnyside neighborhood, just after 7 p.m.
The incident was captured on streetside surveillance cameras, showing the man being followed by nine juveniles as he walked down the road.
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The footage, obtained by silive.com, shows one of the teens rushing up behind the man, prompting him to jump into the middle of a busy street in an attempt to escape the group. The rest of the teens then chased him across the road.
In an interview with NBC New York, the victim recounted the chilling encounter. “He raised his fists and said, ‘Pick one,’ and I said, ‘Not interested,’” the man said. “I thought it was just a kid joking around. I don’t know, maybe that set them off or something, I don’t know, but they were looking for trouble.”
Despite the terrifying situation, the man noted that the group didn’t attempt to rob him or make any verbal threats.
However, the situation quickly escalated as several of the teens began throwing punches at him.
The man was left with bruises on his knee and needed stitches in his finger as a result of the assault.
He recalled that the attackers fled the scene when bystanders noticed the commotion and rushed to help him.
Following the attack, the victim was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, where he incurred approximately $5,000 in medical expenses. A relative of the man described the extent of his injuries to silive.com, stating, “His mouth is all messed up. He was blindsided and kicked all over his body. He fell flat on his face, not expecting anybody to hit him.”
The man also revealed that the group had harassed two other individuals before targeting him. “They actually harassed two other people before me, before I got there,” he told NBC New York. “So I basically walked into an ambush.”
If it had been the opposite way around, editors of major news organizations and liberal politicians would be suffering massive spaz attacks.
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As police continue to search for the individuals responsible for the brutal attack that… pic.twitter.com/74GquAiLvx
— Crime In NYC (@CrimeInNYC) August 22, 2024
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella condemned the attack after reviewing the surveillance footage. He described how the group of “young individuals” got off a bus and spent several minutes walking up and down Clove Street before ultimately attacking the man. “They antagonized and ultimately assaulted an individual who ended up in the hospital,” Fossella told silive.com.
Fossella expressed concern for the safety of residents, noting the random nature of the attack. “He was just minding his business on a beautiful summer night, walking down the street, he ended up surrounded by a pack of individuals,” Fossella said. “He ended up running across Clove Road—he could have gotten killed, hit by a car. The point is that it could have been anybody’s grandfather or grandmother just walking down the street minding their own business, and they’re assaulted, and that is just intolerable.”
The traumatic experience has left the victim fearful for his safety, leading him to consider leaving the area. “I wanna leave here, I no longer want to live here,” he said.
In response to the attack, the NYPD arrested two minors connected to the incident on Thursday.
The two boys, ages 13 and 14, were charged with assault with the intent to cause physical injury, according to silive.com.
The investigation into the attack is ongoing as authorities work to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
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