May. 12, 2023 By Bill Parry
The NYPD on May 11 released surveillance images of three students from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village who allegedly menaced a 15-year-old bus rider last month.
Police say the victim was on a Q43 bus traveling westbound on Hillside Avenue at around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, when he was surrounded by four young men who forcibly removed his wallet, containing $29 in cash and his MetroCard. The four teens proceeded to force the rider off the bus at 168th Street and Hillside Avenue and made him walk with them to 169-06 Highland Ave. in Jamaica Estates, where he was assaulted before they ran off in an unknown direction.
The victim sustained injuries to his face and head and was transported to Cohen Children’s Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition, according to authorities.
Police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows arrested one of the four attackers the following day. The 15-year-old was charged with three counts of robbery, assault, criminal possession of stolen property and harassment, police said.
The three other teens remain at large and are described as teens who attend Martin Van Buren High School, police said.
One of the suspects was wearing a dark winter jacket over a red hoodie. The second suspect wore a black hooded sweatshirt and the third wore a gray hoodie with a NIKE swoosh logo and a black backpack, according to authorities.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.