Police are searching for the boys responsible for the brutal attack that knocked out the teeth of a 62-year-old man while he was taking a walk in Staten Island, New York.
Video of the attack, which took place in July, has only just been released on Wednesday, August 21, as police ask for help in finding the teens.
The victim was attacked by a large group on Howard Avenue near Clove Road at around 6:20 p.m. on July 15.
Police said the assailants punched the victim and shoved him to the ground.
The police said the victim lost teeth, suffered minor lacerations to the body and was transported to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.
The video shows the moments leading up to the alleged beating, as the victim attempts to get away from the group by running across the street. He narrowly missed being hit by oncoming traffic.
The two-minute surveillance video clip shows nine people following the unidentified victim, who is clad in red shirt and khaki-colored cargo shorts, down the street.
Two of the people in the footage are seen seemingly swinging their arms at the victim before the man flees across the street, chased by eight of the individuals. The victim is seen running down the street with his attackers in tow.
The man runs out of the camera’s view; eventually, the group of individuals appears again, running in the opposite direction.
The clip ends with the arrival of EMS to transport the victim to the hospital.
Borough President Vito Fossella called the incident “intolerable.”
“He was just minding his business on a beautiful summer night, walking down the street; He ended up surrounded by a pack of individuals,” said Fossella. “He ended up running across Clove Road — he could have gotten killed, hit by a car.”
Fossella added: “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 NYPD announced two arrests on Thursday, August 22.
A 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy have both been charged with assault with intent to cause physical injury, according to a statement from the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
Watch a video of the assault below.
NEW: 62-year-old Staten Island man assaulted by a group of teens in a random attack during his evening walk.
The man says he was walking when the group confronted him and asked him which fist he wanted to be punched with.
He was then chased across the street where he was… pic.twitter.com/R1NO9VTd2Y
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 23, 2024