Man arrested after 4-year-old punched in head in Times Square
NEW YORK -- A man was arrested and charged after he punched a four-year-old in Times Square, police said Saturday.
Police say it happened Thursday just before 3:30 p.m. on Seventh Avenue near West 46th Street.
Raphaela Rivera told CBS2's Thalia Perez about the moments after she says her son, Angel, was punched in the back of the head by a stranger with a closed fist.
"I turn around, and the baby is screaming and crying. And I said, 'What happened?' My daughter said that guy right there hit him," Rivera said.
She says the 4-year-old was knocked to the ground but was not seriously hurt. His 17-year-old sister, Carmen, came to his aid and then confronted the suspect.
"I was like, you just hit my brother, you think you're going to get away with it?" Carmen said.
Carmen says he tried to get away, but she and her mother held him down until police arrived. At one point, Carmen says the suspect tried to spit on her.
"I grabbed him and I fell on my back with him on top of me, and he was kicking," Raphaela Rivera said.
"You think, like, he must do it normally. Like, it's what he does all the time," Carmen said.
It was a violent ending to what the family said was a fun afternoon. Little Angel had just finished a modeling audition less than an hour before the attack.
Rivera says talking to her son about the assault afterwards was difficult.
"I tell him, we have to keep our eyes open, papi, and he's like, yeah, I know, mami. We have to look around and help each other," Raphaela Rivera said.
The family says they thought they did everything right to stay safe in the city, including taking an Uber instead of the subway.
Police say the suspect, 34-year-old Bbacar Mbaye, has 33 prior arrests, including two recent assaults.
"I don't think that he should even be out," Raphaela Rivera said.
Mbaye was charged with assault, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child. He's due back in court Wednesday.