Brooklyn group of black youths blocks white couple's car, bloody victims in racial attack: cops
By Thomas Tracy AND Barry Paddock / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, October 20, 2013, 6:03 AM.
An intersection near Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn became the scene of a brutal attack by a group of black youths against a white couple driving through, authorities say.
A group of 10 black youths — one of them a 12-year-old girl — surrounded a white couple's car in Brooklyn, viciously beating the husband and yanking the wife to the pavement by her hair as they peppered the two with racial slurs, authorities said.
“Get those crackers!” some of them screamed, according to court papers. “Get that white whore!”
The confrontation erupted about 7 p.m. Monday, as the marauding group crossed Avenue U at E. 58th St. near Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin.
Ronald Russo, 30, and his wife, Alanna, apparently had the green light and the husband honked at the group to get out of the way. The rowdy kids started kicking the car, according to the criminal complaint. Ronald Russo got out to check on potential damage to his vehicle.
And that’s when all hell broke loose.
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Ronald Russo was dragged to the ground. Then he was punched and kicked in the head. He felt more blows all over his body, investigators said. He suffered a fractured nose, a broken septum, a blood clot and abrasions to his shoulder. He was treated and released from Beth Israel Medical Center.
In the midst of the attack, there was a steady chorus of epithets. “White motherf-----!” screamed the attackers, who ranged in age from 12 to 18.
Alanna Russo, 30, was calling 911 when the 12-year-old girl pulled the woman’s hair and threw her to the ground. The victim’s head slammed into the concrete. She suffered a black eye, bleeding and difficulty breathing, prosecutors said, but she refused medical attention.
Her husband’s iPhone was stolen during the melee, according to cops.
The kids scattered after the brazen attack. But two teens, Kashawn Kirton and Daehrell Finch, were arrested at a nearby Lowe’s store parking lot minutes afterward.
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Kashawn Kirton, 18, believes he was wrongly accused of a hate crime because he was wearing the same outfit as a teen that allegedly attacked a driver near Kings Plaza on Monday.
Kashawn Kirton, 18, believes he was wrongly accused of a hate crime because he was wearing the same outfit as a teen that allegedly attacked a driver near Kings Plaza on Monday.
Also arrested, cops said, were the 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.
Kirton, 18, of East Flatbush, who has no prior arrests, faces gang assault, harassment and menacing charges, all as hate crimes. He was released on $50,000 bond.
In an interview at his home Saturday evening, Kirton told the Daily News he would never be part of such an attack, noting he has Caucasian cousins.
“I have relatives who are white. Cousins and stuff,” said the freshman at St. Francis College. “My school is mainly white. More than half my friends are white. I wouldn’t use words like that.”
Kirton said he was inside a Lowe’s store when the beatdown happened outside and was arrested because he was wearing the same outfit as one of the assailants.
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Finch, 17, of Gravesend, was charged with gang assault, assault, menacing and harassment but does not face hate-crime charges in Monday’s attack. He has prior arrests for assault, theft of services and trespass, officials said, and is being held on Rikers Island in lieu of $75,000 bond.
Cops are looking for six more suspects.
A man who answered the door at the victims’ Mill Basin home declined to comment on Saturday.
A neighbor said he’s seen no racial tension in the area. But “it’s different” near the Kings Plaza mall.
“It’s not just a black and white thing. It’s stupid teenagers thinking they can do whatever they want,” the neighbor said.
With Erik Badia, Denis Slattery and Sasha Goldstein
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