Shaina McLawrence
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
(TNS)
Aug. 21—STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As police continue to search for the individuals responsible for the brutal attack that knocked the teeth out of a 62-year-old man’s mouth in July, a video has surfaced of the moments leading up to the beating that took place in the vicinity of Howard Avenue and Clove Road in Sunnyside.
The video — which shows the victim attempt to get away from the group by running across the street, narrowly missing oncoming traffic — was provided to the Advance/SILive.com by a reader.
Attackers still at large
Authorities were summoned to the 800th block of Howard Avenue around 7:20 p.m. on Monday, July 15, said a spokesman for the NYPD.
Witnesses told the Advance/SILive.com the altercation began when the group of individuals began to harass the victim, then escalated from verbal to physical, before good Samaritans stepped in to break up the commotion.
The perpetrators are still at large and the incident is under investigation, according to police.
The video
The two-minute surveillance video clip provided to the Advance/SILive.com shows nine people following the unidentified victim, who is clad in a 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 appear again, running in the opposite direction.
The clip ends with the arrival of EMS arrives on the scene to transport the victim to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.
Call to action
“His mouth is all messed up. He was blindsided and kicked all over his body,” a relative of the victim told the Advance/SILive.com. He requested anonymity as the group of individuals is still at large. “He fell flat on his face, not expecting anybody to hit him.”
Borough President Vito Fossella expressed that the incident was “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.”
Added Fossella: “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.”
Anyone with information can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips at the Crime Stoppers Website or by texting tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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