By Marlyn Montilla
06 Oct 2024, 11:35 AM EDT
Two young men were charged after attacking former New York Governor David Paterson and his stepson, Anthony Chester Sliwa, according to sources.
The teenagers surrendered to police with their parents at the 23rd Precinct on Saturday night, less than 24 hours after the attack, while the two were walking their dog on the Upper East Side on Friday.
The alleged offenders face charges of second-degree assault, authorities stated.
A third teenager who spoke to NYPD officials along with the suspects was not charged, as it was determined that he did not attack Sliwa or the former governor, who is legally blind.
Paterson, 70, and Sliwa, 20, encountered a group of young men climbing a fire escape on Second Avenue near East 96th Street.
Sliwa berated the teens out of fear for their safety and the safety of others, Paterson said, the New York Post reported.
The group later exited the fire escape and yelled at both of them, but they continued on their way.
WANTED-GANG ASSAULT On 10/4/24 @NYPD23Pct the victim’s were engaged in a verbal altercation with 5 unidentified individuals. Following the verbal altercation, the individuals struck both victims in the face & the body. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/BfTDnCIxQI
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) October 5, 2024
When they were returning home, the same young people confronted them and then attacked them outside a McDonald’s, the sources explained.
“I got punched a couple of times in the face and shoulder,” Paterson said, “but I threw the person who punched me in the shoulder against the McDonald’s window myself.”
Sliwa, son of Curtis Sliwa, is trained in martial arts and was raised to be a guardian angel from a young age.
However, he could not escape the incident successfully. While trying to fend off the group, Sliwa received several blows to the face and a cut to his lower lip that required five stitches.
Paterson and Sliwa were treated at NY-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Center and released early Saturday morning.
The NYPD first indicated that a group of five people, including an adult woman with purple hair who threw the first blow, were being sought for their connection to the incident.
The NYPD did not confirm whether they were looking for more suspects.
Paterson, who served as governor of New York State between 2008 and 2018, is married to Mary Paterson, Sliwa’s ex-wife.
Keep reading:
- Former Governor Paterson says Joe Biden “hasn’t really done anything” about the immigration crisis in New York
- Former governor of New York calls Texas’ decision to send immigrants to the Big Apple “brilliant”