A homeless man was filmed brawling with a young tourist in New York City 's Times Square on Wednesday after reportedly stalking the ...
A homeless man was filmed brawling with a young tourist in New York City's Times Square on Wednesday after reportedly stalking the tourist and launching an unprovoked attack.
Video obtained shows the homeless man, wearing only rags around his neck and shorts, seemingly walking past a tourist in a white t-shirt who lifts his arms in defense as the homeless man starts to attack him.
The man in the white t-shirt then tries to kick the homeless man and appears to egg him on in the apparent brawl, which is said to have seen the tourist get punched in the mouth.
The apparently homeless man was later filmed being grabbed by the police who tell him to 'Stop moving, stop fighting,' as the homeless man continues to squirm.
One officer could be see taking out her taser moments before the homeless man grabs onto one of the officers, who flips the suspect onto the ground as he keeps flailing.
After police bring him to his feet, the homeless man could be heard telling someone of screen: 'You're dead to me, you're dead to me, everyone is dead to me.'
The apparent victim in the white t-shirt was also filmed following the incident holding an ice pack to his mouth as a woman next to him tells the police what had transpired.
Video obtained by DailyMail.com shows a homeless man walk toward a tourist in a white t-shirt and apparently try to attack him as the victim tried to fend him off
The suspect kicked the man and reportedly started punching him, landing a blow to his mouth
Good Samaritans were eventually able to break up the fight and keep the homeless man detained before the cops arrived on the scene
The attack allegedly began after the homeless man and two tourists were in a scuffle, according to witness Mario Froehlich.
He said the 'two people that looked a little bit younger' seemed disturbed by what was happening, but he had his earbuds in at the time and did not really hear much until he saw the homeless man follow the tourists across the street and took his earbud out.
'I heard him yelling at the two kids,' Froehlich told DailyMail.com. 'I was like "Really? I wonder what's going on here.'
The next thing he knows, Froehlich said, the man started taking off his overcoat and starts charging at the tourist in the white t-shirt.
'He starts throwing kicks at the kid,' Froehlich recounted, 'the kid's like forced to defend himself and eventually lands a punch right in the face, in the mouth actually.'
At that point, Froehlich said, he decided to intervene.
'And at that point, we're over there, we're breaking them up, me and another guy and it was just absolutely insane.'
'I've seen this guy time and time again,' said Froehlich, who lives on Long Island, 'but he's never really been violent.
'But today, it was just crazy. I've never seen something like that.'
He said he put his hands on the man's chest to break up the brawl, when the suspect grabs him by the shoulders and tells him: 'I'm one man, I am one man.'
'I'm like "I don't get what this had to do with this because I just saw you throw three punches at the other guy. I don't are if you're one man, just don't put your hands on the other guy."
In the end, Froehlich said, he was able to detain the man until the police showed up.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the New York Police Department for more information.
He was later seen trying to squirm away from the police officers who were trying to arrest him, as one officer takes out her taser
The female officer tells the suspect to 'Stop moving, stop fighting'
At one point, the suspect appears to grab one of the officers
But the officer managed to flip him onto the ground
They were then able to handcuff him and take him into custody
Still, the man continued to flail and police had to hold him down
After police bring him to his feet, the homeless man could be heard telling someone of screen: 'You're dead to me, you're dead to me, everyone is dead to me
The attack comes amid a surge in crime throughout New York City, with three shootings occurring in the tourist trap since the beginning of May, when two adults and a four-year-old girl named Skye Martinez were hit with stray bullets.
Farrakhan Muhammad, the alleged gunman, had reportedly started shooting over a street vendor 'turf war.' He allegedly fled the Big Apple after the shooting and was arrested days later in Florida.
Then on June 27, a U.S. Marine was injured in another shooting, when he was hit by a ricocheting bullet at W. 45th St. and Seventh Ave., police said.
A break-dancer, 16-year-old Avon Darden, had allegedly tried to shoot a rival dancer when he hit Samuel Poulin, 21, in the back as he and his wife and family walked past.
The teen later handed himself over to cops at the Midtown South precinct station house accompanied by his mother.
And on July 13, NYPD officers responded to calls reporting shots fired around 12:40 a.m. near 7th Ave. and 41st St. in Midtown, when at least four shots were fired after a white Mercedes clipped a 32-year-old motorcyclist in the bus lane - leaving him with knee and elbow injuries, according to the New York Daily News.
A 22-year-old friend of the motorcyclist confronted a group of men standing by the car when someone in the group started firing, cops told the Daily News. The Mercedes then sped off as the alleged shooter fled on foot.
Avon Darden, 16, handed himself over to cops at the Midtown South Precinct station house ten days after a shooting that left two adults and a four-year-old injured. He is pictured in surveillance footage while cops searched for him
Darden reportedly has been arrested for three felonies
Samuel Poulin, 21, was hit in the back by a ricocheting bullet as he walked with his family near the Marriott Hotel on W. 45th St. around 5:15 p.m. on June 27
But just one day after the July 13 shooting, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said business' leaders concerns about gun violence in Times Square is insulting to cops.
The business leaders near Times Square had ripped the de Blasio administration, claiming he has not taken 'immediate action' to stop the gun violence after a third shooting incident was reported in three weeks in the tourism hotspot.
Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, told the New York Daily News that the shootings have 'got to stop' and that the shooting incident on Wednesday was 'just the latest in an unacceptable cycle.'
'We cannot wait for a new mayor,' Harris said. 'The de Blasio administration needs to stop making excuses and develop effective strategies and take immediate action.'
He added: 'We need to refocus, reenergize, and support our police officers so they can do their jobs and prevent crimes.'
De Blasio's spokesman Bill Neidhardt slammed Harris in comments to the Daily News for criticizing the city's failure to stop the rising tide of crime in the Big Apple.
'Everyone wants to fight back against gun violence and stop these shootings,' Neidhardt said - adding that the NYPD has added more police to the area.
'What is not productive is Tom Harris insulting the police officers who have come from across the city to Times Square in a good faith effort.'
Mayor Bill de Blasio's spokesman claimed on Wednesday that a New York City business leader's concerns about gun violence in Times Square is 'insulting' to cops
Meanwhile, crime is on the rise in the Big Apple.
According to the latest New York City crime statistics, there have been 7 percent more shootings in the city so far this year when compared to the same time period last year. There are also 4.4 percent more shooting victims.
Felony assaults have risen by 5.2 percent, while misdemeanor assaults have risen 2.4 percent.
The number of grand larcenies has also increased 1.6 percent over last year, with grand larcenies from cars up 19.3 percent.
And hate crimes have also risen 95 percent over last year.
No comments