SHOCKING video shows autistic boy, 15, beaten and called N-word in Manhattan 'hate crime'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A 15-year-old autistic boy is staying home from school after being assaulted on Friday, March 10. He was the subject of a social media video that is distressing to even watch, leaving the boy's mother traumatized as well. The teen's mother did not want to be identified for fear of their safety.
The teenager was dragged by his sweater off a southbound A train at West 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue while being yelled at and being followed by a group of teens who were swearing and using racial slurs against him. Three teenagers reportedly assaulted the boy while others hurled the N-word at him in an attack that police are looking into as a possible hate crime.
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Victim was surrounded and repeatedly punched
In the video, the boy, wearing a dark blue hoodie, was seen dragged by a short teenage girl, who grabs him by his sweater and pushes him to walk along the busy platform. The girl yells "Walk!" as the terrified boy tries to board the train again. Passengers watch as she drags the youngster off the platform. The teenager tries to escape after being pushed off the platform, but the girl holds his sweater even more tightly. "You runnin’!" she screams. "Why you runnin’!"
As a crowd forms, some witnesses begin shouting, "N——- alert!" while the victim, who is Black, makes one last attempt to escape and boards the train. The teen girl yells, "Get off!" and slaps him in the face. The teen, who is being pushed back to the platform, pleads, "Why do you want me to get off?," while suffering a hit from another teen. Before the video concludes, the young girl and two other people attack the kid with kicks and punches when he tries to escape once again.
The teen suffered bruises to his face and body and his glasses were broken, according to an NYPD spokeswoman. "I refuse to watch that video. Nobody wants to see their kid being assaulted," said his mother, as per ABC News. The boy, who has high functioning autism, was attacked about 5:30 pm on Friday night during rush hour, according to his mother.
'It’s unacceptable'
An anti-bullying rally was organised outside the 181st Street station on Tuesday, March 14, by the Manhattan neighborhood organizer Rosemary Severino in response to the shocking video. "I think it’s unacceptable to even feel that it’s OK to use that slur," Severino said at the rally. "The way that they were chanting, that’s what really broke my heart." Severino stated that she is interested in speaking with the boy's family to hear his version of events. "Is he OK?" she asked. "Did they randomly pick on him, or was it a suspected relation from a previous similar incident in November 2022 where a young Mexican was attacked?"