NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A 12-year-old boy with alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua gang—and who was charged last year in a string of robberies in Central Park—was among five youths arrested in last week's attack on two NYPD officers in Times Square, police said as they searched for three more young suspects in the "ambush."
The two officers were mobbed around 7:30 p.m. Friday as they were coming to the aid of three boys who were being robbed by a group of a dozen boys at West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who described it as a “wolf pack–style robbery.”
As the cops intervened, “they were ambushed—pelted with scooters, basketball and other makeshift weapons,” Tisch said. The officers suffered minor injuries in the mob assault, which happened as crowds gathered for the Rolly Romero versus Ryan Garcia "Fatal Fury" boxing match in Times Square.
Five suspects—believed to mostly be teen boys—were arrested and charged. Three were arrested Saturday, one turned himself in Sunday and a fifth was arrested Tuesday morning, according to police.
The NYPD released images of three of at-large suspects still being sought Tuesday for the assault. They're all believed to be between 15 and 20 years old. Some have been identified. “We certainly are not done yet,” Tisch said.
The first suspect threw an umbrella at the officers, the second tried to strike one of the officers with a basketball, and the third threw an unknown object at them, according to police.
Police said all the arrested suspects are repeat offenders tied to previous citywide robbery patterns, including the 12-year-old and a 16-year-old recidivist. They face various charges, including attempted felony assault, inciting a riot and reckless endangerment.
“This is not low-level crime,” Tisch said. “It’s organized violence carried out by gang members that we’ve already taken off the street for preying on New Yorkers. And now they’re back ambushing cops.”
The 12-year-old and several others in the group are linked to last summer's robberies in Central Park that made national headlines. Police said at the time that the muggings were part of a "migrant robbery pattern" involving young kids, including the aforementioned suspect, who was 11 at the time.
The boys are allegedly in the teen gang Diablos de la 42, or Devils of 42nd Street, which is an offshoot of the infamous Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela that has become a focus of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown. The NYPD believes they’re getting their guns from the Tren de Aragua.
Officials said there have been 240 arrests among 37 identified members of Diablos de la 42.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan announced 27 members of Tren de Aragua were arrested on charges that include racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracy, robbery, and firearms offenses.