NYC mom of Black teen attacked wants hate crime justice: ‘My son is a good kid'
Monique Whyte joined clergy at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station on Friday to call for action.
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'It's a hate crime; they threw bananas and called him the N-word,' Whyte said.
Whyte's son was assaulted on Monday at the subway station by a group of teens. Three teens surrounded her son, the victim. He attempted to run, but his attackers chased him and even threw a banana at him before assaulting him, according to footage obtained by PIX11.
During the attack, the group of teens yelled racial slurs during the attack, sources said.
A few people who witnessed the attack intervened to help, but Whyte says her son is traumatized. She says she usually takes her son to school, but that day, he went alone.
'They threw a banana at him, they hit him in the face, they beat him, and posted pictures of him on the floor. They chased him and beat him again at another section of this train station, and it's wrong. They chose the wrong Black boy. I want something done because my son is a good kid.'
The community and clergy standing with Whyte also questioned the police's absence during the attack. They say local members plan to do their part to prevent anything like this from happening again.
Police have arrested one teen, who faces charges of robbery, gang assault, and assault as a hate crime, police said. The other two suspects are still at large; sources say they believe they are close to making more arrests related to the attack.
Due to the suspect being a minor, his name has not been released.
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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