A 13-year-old immigrant boy and three of his masked companions beat a man to death with brass knuckles near Times Square. All because the man didn't take pictures, police and sources said.
Police and officials said the Ecuadorian boy and his friend approached the 23-year-old victim at West 40th Street and Second Avenue around 9 p.m. and asked him to take a photo.
When the pedestrian said “no,” the crew members swarmed him, hit him in the face with a sock and stabbed him in the back and leg with a knife, authorities said.
Police said they also tried to take the man's cell phone, but were unsuccessful.
The suspects fled, but after searching the area with the victim, police announced that they were able to capture the boy.
The young man, whose last known address was the notoriously violent Roosevelt Hotel, was charged with second-degree robbery, police and officials said.
The victim refused medical treatment after being assaulted and the stab wounds were superficial, authorities and police said.
Officials said the three suspects, who are still at large, were last seen wearing black face masks.
The boy was arrested on October 26, 2020, in connection with a chain-snatching incident on a northbound F train at McDonald Street and Avenue X in Brooklyn, police officials said.
Four other suspects were involved, and all five had the victim pinned down and the victim, who was asleep before the robbery, tried to fight off the robbers, sources said.
The boy's rise from the crossroads of the world comes as New York City police crime strategy director Michael Ripetri told the Post that the department is “arresting juveniles at the highest level we've ever seen.” This was a few weeks after he said that.
“We see juveniles committing five, six, seven robberies, most of which are handled under family court regulations,” Lipetri said.
