A group of “disorderly” migrants hurled objects at passersby in Manhattan before beating up two men who tried to intervene — pushing one of them through a glass door of an apartment building entrance on Sunday morning, according to police and witnesses.
The violence began just before 9:45 a.m. in Harlem, when cops received word that pedestrians were being attacked by several individuals who were throwing objects at them, the NYPD said.
Law enforcement sources and witnesses said the suspects were migrants staying at a former jail that has been converted into a shelter for asylum seekers on Central Park North, near where the incident took place.
A 35-year-old man who came out of his apartment to confront the group was kicked and punched by the attackers, police said.
He was then pushed through a glass door, police sources and witnesses added.
First responders applied a tourniquet to his arm, according to witnesses, and he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, cops said.
A 41-year-old man who tried to intervene in that attack was also beaten up and suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
He was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, also in stable condition.
One person was arrested, with charges pending, police said.
Cops canvassed the neighborhood looking for two other suspects, who escaped on scooters, according to sources.
A security guard who works at the former Lincoln Correctional Facility at 31 Central Park North said he saw the fight between migrants and what police called a “concerned citizen.”
The guard, who declined to give his name because of his job, said he saw the man being chased by several male migrants down the block until he was backed into the glass door of a six-story apartment building.
“He went to I guess find safety,” the security worker told The Post. “Instead they pushed him into the glass and pulled him out as he was trying to get away.”
A police report said the victim ended up “into the glass door of his building resulting in a serious laceration.”
A maintenance worker cleaning glass off a rug at the building Sunday afternoon said he was frustrated by the unrest coming from the shelter.
“Everything was good until that asylum building came,” said the worker, who identified himself as “Thunder.”
Police come by but it’s not enough, he said.
“Even when we have police security, we don’t have police security like we used to.”
A nearby building manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said the shelter lacks proper security.
“They don’t control the tenants,” he said, adding, “There is nobody to complain to.
“They put garbage in our property and we get a fine and we go over there. There is nobody directing. They all say ‘Call the mayor,’” the manager added.
No comments:
Post a Comment