Teens Arrested in Subway Station Beating of Woman, 78: NYPD

The badly bruised victim was taken to an area hospital

What to Know

  • A 78-year-old woman was beaten repeatedly by two 17-year-old girls in a Brooklyn subway station, police say.
  • Some sort of dispute on a subway platform led up to the beating.
  • The woman was taken to an area hospital in stable condition, with wounds to her face, head and body.

Two teenage girls accused of repeatedly punching and kicking a 78-year-old woman during an apparent argument in a Brooklyn subway station have been arrested, the New York Police Department said. 

The mothers of both girls walked them to the 75th precinct station after seeing their daughters' picture in the news media, NYPD sources say. 

The 15-year-old and 16-year-old girls, who are not being identified because of their ages, were taken into custody Friday night.

Asked by reporters why she allegedly beat the elderly woman, the 16-year-old girl said, "Oh my God, shut up." 

Images taken by a surveillance camera show the two girls who allegedly punched and kicked the woman multiple times in her face, head and body around 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Franklin Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

The teens then ran out of the station.

The badly bruised woman, who lives in a Brooklyn senior center, was taken to an area hospital. Police believe she was released sometime Thursday night. 

An 86-year-old man named Winston who lives in the same senior center as the victim says he's horrified by what happened, but believes the girls' mothers did the right thing. 

"It's disgusting," said Winston. 

"She was a senior citizen," said Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Eva Nelson. "I don't know what's wrong with these kids today." 

"They don't have any sense of values, they have no respect for the elderly," added Vera Walker, who also lives in the neighborhood. 

The NYPD asks anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.

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