A 9-year-old boy wearing Hasidic dress was attacked in what police believe was a hate crime in Williamsburg. Roseanne Colletti reports.
A boy wearing Hasidic clothing in Brooklyn was beaten by a man in an apparent unprovoked attack over the weekend, police say.
It was Sunday at 6 p.m. when cops claim the 9-year-old boy was walking home in Williamsburg when a teen approached the boy and punched him several times in the face, according to the NYPD. The suspect, police said, didn't say a word to the victim during the attack.
The boy refused medical attention at the scene and is expected to be OK, officials said.
Witness Moses Rodriguez happened to be outside the Coconut Kosher Grocery where he works when he saw teh attack.
"Three or four little young kids came, they were walking this way, one ran back that way, and just punched the Jewish kid in the face," he said.
Rodriguez raced over to the corner of Throop Avenue and Walton Street to check on the boy.
"He was bleeding from his nose," he said. "I know the kid, he comes in here all the time. It was just sad."
A man who identified himself as a cousin of the young victim said the boy is going to be OK.
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"He's a very cute boy, 9 years old, and one of the guys took him into a toy store and told him he could buy whatever he wants, so he shouldn't be afraid," said Joseph Niederman. "God forbid such an accident again."
Employees at the grocery store said the incident comes just a few weeks after the store was egged on Halloween. One parent told News 4 her kids are now afraid to walk to Coconut by themselves.
The attack is being investigated as a hate crime. The teen suspect, who was last seen wearing a gray hoodie and white shoes, was with a group of four or five others, according to Rodriguez.
No arrests have been made. Investigators urged witnesses to call Crime Stoppers with tips that may lead to the suspect.
