A young couple in Brooklyn were beaten up Monday in what
police are calling a racially-motivated attack.
30-year-old Ronald Russo and his wife Alanna, also 30, were
stopped at the intersection of Avenue U and East 58 Street near Kings Plaza
Shopping Center Monday when they had the green light.
Mr Russo couldn't go though because a group of teenagers
were blocking his way, so he honked his horn.
The group of 10 black youths ranging in age from 12 to 18,
including a 12-year-old girl, got agitated and started kicking his car.
Things got worse when my Russo got out of his vehicle to
survey the damage.
The kids turned their attention to Mr Russo, dragging him to
the ground and began punching and kicking his head.
During the attack, the group reportedly shouted slurs at the
couple including 'White motherf*****!'
Mr Russo suffered a fractured nose, a broken septum, a blood
clot and abrasions to his shoulder.
While calling 911, Mrs Russo was singled out by the
12-year-old girl who grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the ground. She
suffered a black eye and was bleeding but refused medical attention.
Her husband was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center where he
was treated and released. His iPhone was stolen during the attack, according to
police.
The group scattered after the attack but police arrested two
teens in a Lowe's parking lot shortly after - Kashawn Kirton, 18, and Daehrell
Finch, 17.
Police say they also arrested the 12-year-old girl and a
14-year-old boy.
But Kirton, an 18-year-old St Francis College student from
East Flatbush, says he was not involved in the attack and was arrested because
he was wearing the same outfit as one of the attackers.
'I have relatives who are white. Cousins and stuff,' he told
the New York Daily News. 'My school is mainly white. More than half of my
friends are white. I wouldn't use words like that.'
Kirton was charged with gang assault, harassment, and
menacing charges - all as hate crimes. He was released on $50,000 bond and has
no prior arrests.
Finch also faces gang assault, assault, menacing and
harassment but they have not been labeled hate crime charges. Finch's prior
record includes assault, theft of services and trespass charges and he is being
held on Rikers Island.
Police are still looking for six more suspects in the case.
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