Upper Manhattan residents rallied on Tuesday night in support of the 15-year-old autistic boy who was brutally bullied and beaten by other “transit kids” on the subway in an attack captured on viral video.
Sources said the youngster is a part of a cultural hangout of young train buffs online. Police say they are continuing to investigate a disturbing video taken last week in which three teens can be seen hurling racist abuse at the 15-year-old autistic child, named Elijah, before beating him inside the 181st Street subway station on the A line in Washington Heights.
“Transit officers responded to the scene shortly after the events depicted in this video. Investigators are actively looking into the circumstances of this incident,” Chief of Transit Michael Kemper tweeted out on March 12.
In response to the video, several community members rallied near the 181st Street station on March 14 and demanded Justice for Elijah. They also called for more youth programs to prevent children from acting out.
“We understand that the kid is autistic, which makes the matter even worse to attack a child that can’t really comprehend what he’s done, or what he’s done in the past,” local resident Rosemary Severino said. “I think the community needs to take some responsibility.”
The self-proclaimed “transit kids” consist of young people who gather, hang out and ride on the subways together, according to Eduardo Medellin, who professed to be a transit kid himself. He claimed that Elijah was no stranger to altercations underground, but the attack upon him was a sign that the situation is out of control.
“He has done shady things too, but we all make mistakes and we’ve been fighting for years and years and it’s getting out of hand now,” Medellin said.
When amNewYork Metro asked if Severino is concerned that children are roaming the subway without supervision she responded by stating that she believes programs should be in place to aid young train enthusiasts.
“I know that there’s a lot of transit kids that are very peaceful and just want to see the new trains when they come out,” Severino said. “Maybe there should be a program where kids get to explore New York City transits and buses. Maybe there should be funding for that.”
The suggestion is similar to an idea proposed by advocates last year who have railed against the dangerous phenomenon of subway surfing by young New Yorkers.
