A Staten Island mother recounted the moment members of an infamous migrant gang attacked her autistic son earlier this month.
Police said members of Los Diablos de la 42 — an offshoot crew of Tren de Aragua (TdA) — assaulted the 16-year-old boy with special needs on Staten Island on May 4 — a day after other Los Diablos members attacked two police officers in Times Square when the cops responded to a robbery, resulting in metal objects and scooters being thrown at them.
According to police sources, the boy was waiting for a bus on 2555 Richmond Ave. at around 4:05 p.m. when he was set upon by a group of four youths later identified as Los Diablos members.
“My son was sitting at a bus stop, they approached him, they attacked him, they threw him on the floor,” said the boy’s distraught mother in an interview with amNewYork; she asked not to be identified out of fear of retribution from the gang. “They were all from the gang in the city.”
Cops said the suspects punched and kicked the autistic boy, then stole his bag and $38 in cash.
“There was a good Samaritan who thankfully, basically saved my son’s life. She was able to grab him off the floor. She found him bloody on the floor. She picked him up, put him in a car, and she called the cops,” his mother recounted. “I can tell you as a mother, not knowing what kind of condition my son was in, hearing that he was attacked by a bunch of migrants was even worse.”
Sources familiar with the investigation report that the gang members once stayed in a Midtown shelter before being driven out.
It is believed the perpetrators in this case made their way to Staten Island via the ferry with the intention of shoplifting at the nearby mall before the attack. They are also known to target those most vulnerable.
On May 14, cops cuffed two teens, a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy, they say were involved, and charged them with robbery. Two more suspects remain on the lam.
Still, despite the arrests, the victim’s mother says her son was so shaken by the assault he was too afraid to attend school and even found him weeping. Now she is pleading with prosecutors to take action before they hurt someone else.
“Stop playing games and prosecute these kids,” she said. “They get away with murder. They know what they can get away with.”
