Two 16-year-old girls have been charged with attempted gang assault, assault, attempted robbery, and other crimes for the beating of a 15-year-old girl in the Astoria 46th Street subway station on June 2, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz recently announced. If found guilty in court, the defendants could face up to 15 years in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz commented, “A high school student was mercilessly tased, kicked, punched, and stomped on by a mob of fellow students at a train station after dismissal from William Cullen Bryant High School.”
When the victim was dismissed from the high school at the end of the school day on June 2, the defendants – both high school juniors – and others followed her to the subway station. Inside the stairwell of the station, she was attacked by a mob of teenagers. The mob allegedly punched, kicked, and stomped on her head, face, and body. According to the charges, the victim was also tased during the assault, and she was hospitalized after.
“What an outrageous display of bullying and brutality,” Katz said. “This will not be acceptable behavior here in Queens and I will hold students accountable for this behavior to the extent the law allows.”
The two 16-year-old defendants were arraigned on June 10 on a criminal complaint with the charges. Judge Bruna DiBiase ordered the defendants to return to court on June 18.
The Queens District Attorney’s office reported that the investigation into the conduct of other individuals who took part in the assault remains ongoing.
