A group of teenage thugs and alleged illegal Venezuelan gang members have been arrested for attacking New York Police Department officers in Times Square.
New NYPD bodycam video on Friday shows three teens who are still on the run for the attack that occurred Friday, May 2, according to NBC 4 New York. The young gangbangers hurled a scooter, a basketball, an umbrella and bottles at the officers.
WATCH: Newly released bodycam video shows NYPD cops beaten by illegal aliens in Times Square
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg released most of the suspects without bail — a grand jury he convened later indicted them
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One suspect is as young as 12, but law enforcement officials say they are responsible for crimes across the city which leave people victimized and traumatized. New York Mayor Eric Adams says they should be deported if they are here illegally after facing criminal charges.
“Tell that to the victim,” Adams said during a news conference. “Tell it to the victim of a shooting, a stabbing. Tell it to the victim of being surrounded and how fearful they are…. People who prey on innocent people must be held accountable. They must be brought to justice.”
At least six suspects, between 12 and 19 years old, were arrested in connection with the chaotic, mob-style attack on two uniformed NYPD officers last week. They face serious charges including attempted felony assault, inciting riot and reckless endangerment.
About 10 to 12 individuals were initially reported to be involved when officers approached them. Initially, NYPD officers thought they were thwarting an apparent assault on a mother and child near West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.
“The officers engaged the group and attempted to break up what appeared to be a ‘wolf pack’ style robbery. Instead, they were ambushed, pelted with scooters, basketballs, and other makeshift weapons,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch during the news conference. “This was a targeted attack, planned, deliberate, and carried out with intent. And it will not be tolerated.”
Authorities believe the suspects are members of a Times Square gang known as Diablos de la 42, described as an offshoot of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang.
ABC 7 News in New York reports the teens were trying to commit crimes, including robbery, in the heart of Times Square by surrounding their victims. A video posted to social media shows two police officers being attacked while trying to stop the robbery.
The brazen teens don’t seem to care about consequences or getting caught. One of the teens posted a picture to social media, while inside the precinct, flashing gang signs.
Several of suspects are listed in New York’s gang database, which helped police track them down. The database is “one of the most critical tools that we have to protect our cops and to protect our communities,” Tisch said.
Authorities say the teens are behind other crimes, including robberies in Central Park and on the subway. And now it’s escalated in ambushing cops in the middle of Times Square.
“It’s not a fluke,” Tisch said, with the full transcript on the city’s website. “It’s a system failure. It’s what happens when repeat offenders are allowed to cycle through arrest after arrest without meaningful accountability.”
Tisch also criticized the New York City Council for wanting to abolish the database.
“You can’t fight organized violence with blindfolds on, and without this tool, we’d lose the edge that keeps our city safe,” she said. “We need our City Council to stop legislating against our cops and to start legislating for public safety.”
NYPD officials say those in custody have several prior arrests and are part of “a farm team of Tren de Aragua,” or a young Tren de Aragua. And 37 suspected members of this gang have been arrested more than 240 times—but they end right back out on street because they are juveniles.
“That’s almost six (arrests) apiece,” said Jason Savino, NYPD assistant chief. “Think about that individual that’s committing these heinous crimes and there’s virtually no consequence. You’re actually telling that individual that it’s okay.”
Savino said they flash the same gang signs, use the exact verbiage, and the same emojis when they post on social media. “They’re very, very big into posting firearms,” he said.
Some of the suspects have been living in migrant shelters, including one who police said was residing at the Roosevelt Hotel. Police said several of the suspects have past arrests for robbery and burglary.
Adams described incidents of people being surrounded and robbed on the subway. He said they have become professionals at preying on innocent people with these wolf-pack type robberies.
“That’s why we said we can’t allow them to take a foothold,” Adams said. “Can you imagine being in Central Park and having twenty people surround you? Or you’re sitting on the subway station, on the train, and having thirteen people surround you. How intimidating that is. These guys are shooting, they’re robbing, they’re committing crimes, and they have a total disregard for law enforcement.”
Adams emphasized that these gangbangers shouldn’t be preying on other migrants or innocent New Yorkers. He said that once they are convicted and serve whatever time they’re sentenced to, regardless of their age, “you have abdicated your right to be in this country.”
