98-year-old man brutally beaten in his Brooklyn apartment building amid argument; police on hunt for female culprit



A 98-year-old was brutally beaten inside his Brooklyn apartment building amid an argument earlier this week — and police said they're searching for the female culprit.

Investigators said the female responsible for the attack punched, kicked, and struck the elderly victim with a broomstick and metal chair inside his apartment building in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, News 12 Brooklyn reported.

The beating is yet another in a stretch of attacks involving older Brooklyn residents.

The attack took place around 4 p.m. Thursday, the station said.

Investigators released video showing the woman appearing to drop off flyers at a building, News 12 Brooklyn reported, adding that investigators said the woman on the video is the person they're trying to identify.

Investigators told the station that the 98-year-old man had just entered the apartment building when he got into an argument with the female.

Then the verbal spat reportedly became violent, the station added.

RELATED: Video: Female bully towers over and beats up elderly woman on Florida bus. Victim is left 'battered and bruised': Sheriff

Investigators told News 12 Brooklyn that the woman repeatedly punched and kicked the elderly man — and then she began hitting him with a broomstick and a metal chair.

She then ran from the building and headed east on Maple Street, the station said.

Despite the brutal beatdown, the victim suffered only minor injuries and was treated at the scene, News 12 Brooklyn reported.

New York City police are looking for the suspect, CBS News added.

The beating is yet another in a stretch of attacks involving older Brooklyn residents, News 12 Brooklyn said, adding that a 72-year-old man was punched multiple times in the face in Brownsville last week — and just days later, an 83-year-old woman was slashed in the head while walking to church.

No arrests have been announced in this latest case, News 12 Brooklyn said, adding that those who recognize the woman seen in the video are asked to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Elderly man dies after suspect — who was in police custody just hours earlier — shoves him down subway steps: NYPD



An elderly man has died after the suspect in his killing — who was in police custody just hours earlier — shoved him down subway entrance steps in New York City on Thursday night, police told WCBS-TV.

The attack against the 76-year-old man occurred just before 9:30 p.m. in the city's Chelsea neighborhood at West 18th Street and 7th Avenue, the station said.

'Disgusting.'

Responding officers found Ross Falzone on the subway stairs with head injuries, WCBS said, adding that he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition and later died.

The station said police believe they know who carried out the crime since the suspect was taken into custody earlier Thursday.

Police told WCBS that officers around 3:30 p.m. Thursday encountered the suspect behaving erratically outside the NYPD's 17th Precinct.

The male was taken into custody, the station said, and officers brought him to Bellevue Hospital. WCBS said he was taken to the psychiatric emergency room for evaluation — and released an hour later.

RELATED: Thug who's been deported 4 times faces upgraded charges after elderly man he's accused of shoving onto NYC subway tracks dies

Surveillance video around 9:30 p.m. Thursday recorded Falzone approaching the subway — and the same male who had been taken into custody earlier in the day was seen walking quickly behind him and then shoving the elderly victim down the steps, police told WCBS.

Falzone struck his head about halfway down the steps, the station added.

Emergency responders were called, WCBS said, adding that Falzone was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but died just before 3 a.m. Friday.

Police are searching for the suspect, the station said, adding that the NYPD hasn't released his name or description.

Observers commenting under the WCBS video report about the elderly man's death are beyond done. Some examples:

  • "This is what you vote for in blue city NY," one commenter said.
  • "Disgusting," another user stated.
  • "There will be no justice," another commenter lamented.
  • "The powers that be do this because they're not scared of being dragged out and held accountable," another user declared.

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'You're a dead man!' Enraged family members explode at arrested male accused of fatally shooting boy, 15, at NYC playground



An enraged crowd of family members exploded with profanities and racial slurs at an arrested male accused of fatally shooting a 15-year-old boy at a New York City playground earlier this month.

Police had to restrain relatives of victim Jaden Pierre while 18-year-old Zahir Davis was being walked out of the 113th Precinct on Saturday, WCBS-TV reported.

'Look at my face! I hope they f**k you up every f**kin' day!'

Davis was then taken to his arraignment in Queens criminal court where he was charged with second-degree murder, gang assault, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, the station said.

Davis' private attorney entered a not guilty plea, WCBS reported.

During his perp walk out of the precinct, the crowd didn't hold back their anger at Davis:

  • "You're a f**kin' piece of s**t!"
  • "You're a f**kin' bitch!"
  • "You're a dead man!"
  • "How dare you do that to my nephew!"
  • "Look at my face! I hope they f**k you up every f**kin' day!"

Content warning:Profanity and racial slurs:

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Saturday morning announced Davis' arrest — noting that Davis fled to Jamaica following the deadly April 16 shooting.

"NYPD detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force have arrested Zahir Davis for the senseless murder of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre in a park in Queens last week," Tisch wrote on X. "Davis fled to Jamaica following the shooting and was arrested immediately when he landed back in NYC last night."

Officials told WCBS that while Pierre was being beaten, Davis allegedly pulled a handgun from his bag and shot Pierre in the chest.

The Queens District Attorney's Office added to the station that Davis flew to Jamaica the next day "to evade responsibility," and police urged Davis' family to have him fly back home.

Davis is due back in court Wednesday, WCBS reported, adding that he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Davis is a reputed gang member, WABC-TV reported, adding that detectives believe the shooting stemmed from previous fights between him and Pierre.

WABC also noted that detectives who reviewed cellphone video believe Davis may have been attempting to pistol-whip Pierre, but the gun went off.

The victim's older sister, 17-year-old Nellie Pierre, had harsh words for those recording video of the attack on her brother, telling the New York Daily News that "everyone there recording did nothing. They treated it all as entertainment. He was already beat up. He was helpless, and they shot him."

WABC also reported that Davis was separately charged with aggravated harassment and harassment for allegedly threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child, on April 12. That was just four days before the fatal shooting of Pierre.

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Mom of teen thug arrested after body-slamming, head-stomping much smaller girl says he's a 'humble,' 'quiet' Christian



The mother of a 14-year-old male who was arrested after being caught on a viral video body-slamming and head-stomping a much smaller girl on a Harlem street said her boy is a "humble," "quiet" Christian who “doesn’t provoke nobody,” the New York Post reported.

The attack against the 15-year-old victim took place on the corner of East 107th Street and 3rd Avenue in East Harlem around 3:30 p.m. Monday after she wouldn't give the boy her number, the Post said in a previous story.

'He don’t provoke nobody. But if you provoke him, he will lash out.'

The clip shows the considerably larger male standing in a crosswalk in front of his victim and warning that "I'll knock the s**t out of you right now."

Another male is heard off-camera encouraging the attacker: "Do it!"

When the girl attempts to cross the street, the attacker orders her, "Nah, you stand right here" as he points to the ground close to his feet.

The girl attempts to go around the attacker, but he puts his arm out and pushes her backward.

But the gutsy girl defiantly tells her attacker, "Get the f**k away from me, p***y!" and turns around and begins to walk away down a sidewalk.

Her attacker, who's wearing a mask over his mouth and nose, follows her, grabs her from behind, picks her up, and body-slams her into the sidewalk — and then stomps on her head while she's defenseless on the ground.

RELATED: 14-year-old thug body-slams, head-stomps girl on Harlem street — reportedly after she wouldn't give him her phone number


The Post said the attacker was arrested, charged with assault, and appeared in Manhattan juvenile court Thursday afternoon, after which he was remanded into custody.

The victim's mother told the Post her daughter — a ninth-grade student-athlete at East Harlem Scholars Academy Charter School — spent two days in a hospital and suffered a concussion, bleeding, potential brain injury, headaches, and an injured neck.

However, the attacker's mother — Selma Allen — claimed to the paper that the girl victim in the attack actually is the bully.

“He’s been complaining about her," she added to the Post. "I bring it to the principal’s attention, but he don’t address it. The way my son is being bullied, he doesn’t want to go to school.”

What's more, Allen told the Post after her son's court appearance that he's a "humble," "quiet" Christian who "doesn’t provoke nobody." She also told the paper that the girl shoved him just moments before the start of the video.

“It’s retaliation because she pushed him first,” Allen added to the Post, although the paper said she failed to "cough up additional footage she claimed she had of the victim pushing her son."

“He don’t provoke nobody," Allen also told the Post. "But if you provoke him, he will lash out.”

The attacker's mother also denied her son wanted the girl's phone number, the paper said, adding that the pair are friends who exchange messages on Instagram and WhatsApp.

The paper said the school didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

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Ex-NYPD cop sentenced to prison after fatally stopping fleeing suspect receives hopeful news from GOP candidate



A New York Police Department drug-bust went sideways in August 2023, leaving a suspect dead and then-Sgt. Erik Duran's life in shambles.

Bruce Blakeman, a Republican gubernatorial candidate hoping to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the November election, has vowed, however, to liberate Duran and give him a blank slate.

How it started

Undercover narcotics officers conducted a drug bust in the University Heights section of the Bronx after 5 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2023, with the aim of capturing local drug traffickers.

'One of the darkest days in the history of the law-enforcement profession.'

After 30-year-old Eric Duprey allegedly sold cocaine to one of the officers, plainclothes and undercover officers rushed in to make the arrest. Duprey proved, however, too slippery for a quick capture. He jumped onto a motorcycle, which the New York Times reported had been transported within reach by an unidentified individual, then sped off.

Duprey was caught on camera speeding down a sidewalk, then careening toward a group of about 10 people, including Duran, seated around a table.

Duran — an undercover member of the NYPD Narcotics Borough Bronx Tactical Response Unit who was reportedly slapped with a substantiated complaint of abuse of authority the previous year — grabbed a red Igloo cooler from the table and chucked it at the motorcycle.

A witness told the Daily News that Duprey "was on the bike, moving north when the cops started chasing him. ... Then he took a U-turn and was riding on the sidewalk. ... The cop then took my cooler, which was filled with soda cans, water bottles, and hit him."

RELATED: '100% MAGA' county executive joins governor's race in New York

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The cooler struck Duprey in the head, making him lose control and ultimately go flying. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.

Duran was suspended the following day and in January 2024 was charged by the office of radical New York Attorney General Letitia James with manslaughter, assault, and criminally negligent homicide.

"I didn’t have time to think," Duran — who pleaded not guilty — testified during his trial earlier this year. "I thought he was going to kill my guys, he was going so fast."

"He was going to crash right into them," added Duran.

Duran's lawyers argued both that Duprey "wasn't trying to get away" but rather "ambushing" police and that Duprey died because of a "series of bad choices," reported CBS News.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Guy Mitchell — who was originally appointed in 2015 by former Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and previously let off a black teen who beat a homeless man to death with what turned out to be only nine months in prison — refused to accept Duran's justification and convicted him in February of second-degree manslaughter. The criminally negligent homicide charge was waived.

The Times reported that shortly after the verdict was delivered, Duran was fired from the NYPD.

How it's going

Ahead of his sentencing last week, Duran, a father of three, told Mitchell, "Your honor, I am asking for a chance to be there with my kids. I am asking for a chance, just one," reported the New York Post.

Mitchell acknowledged that the ex-cop was remorseful but decided to make an example of him as a "general deterrent" to other officers, sentencing him to three to nine years in state prison.

Vincent Vallelong, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, wrote in an op-ed following Duran's sentencing, "I can say without equivocation that the sentencing of Sgt. Erik Duran will forever be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the law-enforcement profession."

"Moving forward, the SBA will support Sgt. Duran and his heartbroken family throughout his appeal until this miscarriage of justice is rectified," wrote Vallelong. "Sgt. Duran, who served the NYPD with dedication and helped save lives throughout his career, deserves nothing less."

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — a Trump-endorsed GOP candidate running for New York governor — has vowed that if elected in November, he will immediately pardon Duran.

The promised action is "consistent with [Blakeman's] commitment to back law enforcement and make every neighborhood in New York safer," the candidate's campaign told the Post.

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Bronx male allegedly says 'f**k you' to elderly neighbor's gripe about loud music. As tensions rise, elderly man grabs a gun.



Gilbert Smalls, 76, told police he complained about loud music coming from 21-year-old Justin Chatfield's next-door apartment in the River Park Towers in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx on Thursday night, the New York Daily News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

With that, Smalls claimed the much younger Chatfield responded “f**k you” to his complaint; their argument took place through a wall that separates their apartments, the Daily News said.

'Her baby, one of her babies, died in her arms.'

Moments later, Smalls told police he heard seven shots fired outside his window, the paper said, citing sources. Police haven't determined if shots actually were fired, the Daily News added.

Smalls, who lives with his wife and told police he's in poor health, then got his gun — a 9-mm pistol he keeps in a safe, the paper said.

Smalls then stepped into the hallway, the Daily News said, adding that Smalls' doorway and Chatfield's doorway are just inches apart.

Law enforcement sources told the paper that surveillance video obtained by investigators shows Smalls opening fire at Chatfield as soon as Chatfield came to his own apartment doorway.

Walter Fields — an attorney and longtime friend of Chatfield's family — told the Daily News that after Chatfield was shot, he stumbled back into his apartment and tried to get help from his mother.

“Her baby, one of her babies, died in her arms,” Fields told the paper last week.

The Daily News said Chatfield was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but couldn't be saved.

RELATED: 19-year-old thug reportedly violated bond at least a half dozen times before being accused of murder — while out on probation

Sources told the paper that police soon knocked on Smalls' door with the intention of asking to look at his Ring doorbell video — but Smalls confessed instead.

“I’m the one who shot him,” one source quoted Smalls saying, the Daily News reported.

More from the paper:

Smalls then led police into his apartment and gave officers the key to the safe containing his gun, sources said.

The suspect suggested he shot his neighbor thinking he may have been armed, sources said.

He complained of health issues, telling cops he doesn’t expect to “make it,” presumably while behind bars, sources said.

Smalls was arraigned Saturday on murder and gun possession charges in Bronx Criminal Court and ordered held without bail, the Daily News said, adding that Smalls' lawyer declined comment Monday.

Sources told the paper there had been previous tensions between Smalls and Chatfield, but it doesn't appear police had ever been called to their apartments.

Chatfield had multiple arrests on his record, most recently for robbery in January 2025, police told the Daily News.

A large makeshift memorial was set up outside the apartment building for Chatfield, the paper said.

Chatfield also was expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend, the Daily News said. The couple were high school sweethearts, Fields added to the paper.

“He was very close to having a baby — I mean, within months," Fields also told the Daily News. "He should be a new father. He was looking for work, going to trade schools. He was really trying to become a productive member. Support his family, support his child.”

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Mamdani Sinks $260 Million Into Office of Community Safety, Where Social Workers Replace Cops, as Big Apple Faces Historic Budget Crisis

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani (D.) is sinking a quarter of a billion dollars into his new Office of Community Safety—which is intended to deploy social workers to respond to hate crimes, mental health crises, and other events typically handled by police—as the city faces a historic budget crisis.

The post Mamdani Sinks $260 Million Into Office of Community Safety, Where Social Workers Replace Cops, as Big Apple Faces Historic Budget Crisis appeared first on .

'I messed up': LaGuardia Airport shut down after deadly collision



Two are dead and scores more are injured after a plane collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

When touching down on Runway 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation struck a Port Authority Airport Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident, said the airport.

'That wasn't good to watch.'

Jazz Aviation confirmed that flight 8646 was en route to LaGuardia from Montreal and carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said during a press conference early Monday morning that "initial numbers indicate that 41 passengers and crew were transported to the hospital as well as the [Airport Rescue] officers. At this time, we understand that 32 have been released, but there are also serious injuries."

Garcia confirmed that the pilot and first officer of the Air Canada flight were killed in the collision. The sergeant and the officer who were inside the truck are in stable condition with no life-threatening injuries.

Air Canada said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families."

RELATED: One crash, one derailment — and Congress still can’t follow the data

Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Jack Cabot, a passenger on the ill-fated flight, said, "We went down for a regular landing. We came in pretty hard. We immediately hit something, and it was just chaos in there. About five seconds later, we had come to a stop, but in that short period, I mean, everybody was hunkered down and everybody was screaming pretty quickly," reported Canadian state media.

"We didn't have any directions because the pilot's cabin had been kind of destroyed, so somebody said, 'Let's get the emergency exit and get the door and let's all jump out,' and that's exactly what we did," added Cabot.

In audio capturing LaGuardia tower communication in the moments leading up to the collision, a ground controller can be heard instructing the truck, "Just stop there. ... Stop, stop, stop, Truck One, stop, stop, stop! Stop, Truck One! Stop!"

The two-man vehicle was headed to a United flight that had reported an issue with an odor, according to Garcia.

"Jazz 646, I see you collide with a vehicle, just hold position," continues the controller. "I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now."

By that point, the cockpit was shorn off, with its occupants almost certainly dead.

An individual in the recording states, "That wasn't good to watch."

The controller who told the truck to stop responds, "Yeah, I know, I was here. I tried to reach out to 'em and stop 'em. We were dealing with an emergency earlier, and I messed up."

Garcia noted that where port authority rescue vehicles operating on the tarmac are concerned, "the procedure always is in deference to the control tower any time anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways," and "they have to get clearance from the tower to move on our runways and our taxiways."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision.

LaGuardia, which warned travelers days earlier of "longer than usual wait times" at security checkpoints "due to staffing impacts from the federal funding lapse," announced that the airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. on Monday — the first day of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' expected nationwide deployment to help with security lines at airports.

The New York Police Department announced Monday morning that all streets and highway exits into the airport have been closed until further notice.

According to Federal Aviation Administration data, LaGuardia was the 19th busiest American airport in 2024.

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'Heinous' thug accused of shoving 83-year-old military vet onto NYC subway tracks was deported 4 times, charged 15 times: DHS



The "heinous" male accused of shoving an 83-year-old military veteran off a New York City subway station platform and onto the train tracks last weekend was deported four times and has 15 prior charges on his record, the Department of Homeland Security said.

DHS on Thursday added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked New York authorities not to release illegal alien suspect Bairon Posada-Hernandez, whom Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called a "heinous" and "serial criminal" who "should never have been able to walk our streets and harm innocent Americans."

'I hope he rots in hell.'

Posada-Hernandez was arrested for attempted murder Tuesday in connection with Sunday's incident, during which he also allegedly pushed a 30-year-old man onto the subway train tracks, the agency said.

DHS said ICE on Tuesday placed a detainer on Posada-Hernandez, a Honduran national. Bis added that "DHS is calling upon New York sanctuary politicians to commit to this ICE detainer."

More from DHS:

Posada-Hernandez first entered the country on January 2, 2008, and has been deported four different times, most recently in 2020. He entered illegally a fifth time at an unknown date and location.

The suspect has a lengthy criminal history, including 15 prior charges such as simple assault, domestic violence, obstruction of police, possession of a weapon, drug possession, and aggravated assault.

One of the victims of the subway shove, a 30-year-old man, reportedly is in stable condition, while the other, an 83-year-old Air Force veteran, remains in critical condition, the agency said.

RELATED: Exclusive: ICE urges Georgia sheriff not to release illegal alien ‘monster’ accused of sexually assaulting 10-year-old girl

The daughter of elderly victim Richard Williams told the New York Daily News, "He's unresponsive. He's on a respirator. No changes. He's considered critical. We're praying for a miracle. It's horrible."

As for Posada-Hernandez, Williams' daughter told the Daily News, “I hope he rots in hell."

"To push one person down and then to push another down? I thank God that young man that was pushed first — that man, I have to give him my thanks. He helped my father out of the tracks, carried him pretty much," she added to the paper. "The people there that helped, it was amazing what happened."

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