11-year-old migrant boy arrested as ‘aggressor’ in violent NYC phone robbery on subway: sources

An 11-year-old migrant boy was arrested as the main “aggressor” in a group that allegedly pummelled a straphanger and stole his phone in a violent subway robbery, the NYPD and police sources said Wednesday.

The baby-faced perp and a 17-year-old boy were both taken into custody after they allegedly attacked the victim onboard a Manhattan-bound 7 train at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday near the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue stop in Queens, law enforcement sources said.

 

“When I fought back to try to get my phone, they attacked. They jumped me,” recalled the Manhattan-based IT professional, who requested anonymity. 

“They essentially hit me in the back of the head. When I tried to get my stuff back, they ran off the (subway) car.”

Investigators are also looking into whether the two suspects are connected to a series of robberies that have been taking place in Central Park, sources said.

The young suspects were nabbed just hours after the subway mugging near the Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Midtown Manhattan after the victim — with the help of cops — managed to track the phone to the location, according to the sources.

The youngsters allegedly had the stolen device on them when they were busted at roughly 10:15 p.m.

The victim described the younger boy to cops as the “primary aggressor” in the incident, police said.

“He was essentially provoking it,” the straphanger said. 

“He was just up in my face and stuff like that.”

The victim said the kid was among a group of four who surrounded him. 

“It was completely in Spanish. It was completely in Spanish so whatever they said was unintelligible to me,” he said. 

“It was pretty aggressive.

 

The unsuspecting subway rider was left rattled after the shocking incident. 

“It’s pretty upsetting since he’s 11 and out on the subway doing this stuff,” he said. 

The 11-year-old was issued a juvenile report and later released to a guardian, police said.

His victim railed against the youth’s lack of parenting. 

“Honestly, they need more strict parenting if their kid is like this,” he said. 

“Whatever they are doing is not working.”

Sources said the younger suspect is a migrant from Venezuela, though it wasn’t immediately clear if he was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel shelter.

It is unclear if the 17-year-old alleged perp is also a migrant.

He was also taken into custody on a juvenile report, sources said.