A six-year old Brooklyn boy from an Orthodox family who was assaulted by a masked man who stole his electric scooter has been gifted a new scooter by the NYPD and local Jewish community leaders.
The robber targeted the child as he was playing on the scooter near his Borough Park, Brooklyn home on on the night of July 7, police said.
According to the New York Post, the e-scooter belonged to the boy’s older brother, who has special-needs.
The thief walked up to the boy – asking him “Where is your mommy?” – and then pushed him off the e-scooter, grabbed it and scooted away.
The boy ran to his older sister and told her what happened. Their parents called the NYPD.
Video of the incident was posted to social media by Borough Park Shomrim under the heading, “Video of the despicable lowlife robbing the now 7-year-old child of his electric scooter last week.”
The boy, who is in second grade and just turned seven, was so shaken up by the incident that he has so far not returned to school., and is afraid to ever ride a scooter again, his father told the Post.
“We are working on it. We are going to have therapy for him, for sure. We are not going to let him fall behind,” said his father.
The family has 15 kids. The father bought the scooter for $500 three weeks ago for the boy’s older special-needs brother, who was away at summer camp.
The father said that when his son returns from camp, he was expecting to have to replace the scooter but didn't have the money.
“I wish someone could help me.. … My child needs it. That’s what he uses to get around,’’ he said.
The suspect was captured on video. He is thought to be in his late 20s with dark hair, light grey shorts and grey running shoes.
A few days ago NYPD officers presented the boy with a new scooter for his seventh birthday.
“We were able to provide the young victim a brand new scooter and helmet for him to enjoy!” they said on Twitter.
The boy was gifted a new Mobius scooter and a helmet by the 66th Precinct, NYPD Community Affairs, and local community leaders Yanky Meyer and Yonasan Schwartz, the owner of Toys 2 Discover in Brooklyn.