Two Paterson teens charged for assaulting elderly man in viral video
By Jayed Rahman
Published: February 6, 2016
Two city teens have been charged with assaulting an unsuspecting elderly man as he attempted to cross an intersection, the video of which went viral on social media sparking widespread condemnation and a police investigation.
Police have identified and charged a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old with aggravated assault and endangering an injured victim for the vicious unprovoked attack on the victim as he attempted to cross the intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Van Houten Street, according to police.
Police director Jerry Speziale said the assailant shown in the video sucker punching the defenseless old man is the 17-year-old while the voice egging him on from outside of the camera vantage point is the 16-year-old.
Speziale said the 16-year-old filmed the assault which went viral on Thursday forcing a police response. He said the boy surrendered to police at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The 17-year-old assailant remains at large and is currently being sought by police. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is being urged to contact police.
Police cannot release further information about the suspects because of their age, said the director.
The director said the video that was distributed on Facebook and Twitter shows an assault which took place on December 7th, 2015. He said the video shows an elderly man getting ready to cross Rosa Parks Boulevard from Van Houten Street. The video shows the victim being approached by the 17-year-old while the 16-year-old allegedly tells him to “Knock him out! Knock him out!”
The 17-year-old has a brief exchange with the victim before striking him. The elderly man falls to the ground apparently unconscious.
“This shameless act of violence was thoroughly investigated and the tireless efforts by the detectives involved is commendable,” said Speziale. He said detectives Charlie Garcia, Joel Santiago, Mike Figueroa, Cindy Carrera, and Jeff Robinson worked non-stop reviewing countless number of tips and recordings that led to the assailants being identified.
“The juvenile at large will continue to be sought with the same tenacity and will face swift and decisive justice for this senseless act of violence,” vowed Speziale.