New York City Mayor Eric Adams blamed parents for the rioting, but the mother of a youngster detained for attacking a police officer said the police and society were to blame. “You cannot blame parents. This is the blame of society, of people who use their guns to harm rather than protect,” mother Stacy Lucas told the New York Daily News.
“For you to sit there and throw stones, get your crooked cops in order.” After Twitch star Kai Cenat revealed he would be giving away PlayStations on Friday, an estimated 2,000 children and teenagers descended upon Union Square to try their luck at winning one.
Some attendees allegedly started hurling pyrotechnics and other objects into people and assaulting police, and the gathering quickly descended into chaos. Cenat was accused of encouraging a disturbance and unlawful assembly, and he was arrested along with dozens of others.
New York mom blames NYPD, ‘society’ after son accused of assaulting cop during influencer-sparked melee https://t.co/OxYUCmQXPz
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 8, 2023
The NYPD told Fox News Digital that Angel John, Lucas’s 19-year-old son, was among those arrested and accused with assault and unlawful assembly. According to the New York Daily News, he is accused of hitting a police officer in the face. Mayor Adams, responding to the violence, blamed the parents of the young people involved rather than the police.
“This is not a policing issue, [it] is a parenting issue. And we need to be clear on that. Police is the response after an incident happened. But this should be a proactive approach,” Adams said over the weekend.
“And I wonder with the thousands of children who were there hurling dangerous objects at police officers disrespecting the residents in the area attacking each other? How many parents text their children?” he continued.
Angel John and his 18-year-old brother, both sons of Lucas, told the New York Daily News that they were strolling around Union Square on Friday after a family tragedy when they came across the giveaway. “My brother likes Kai Cenat, I like Kai Cenat, so we wanted to see what was going on,” John told the outlet.
He claimed that the masses were initially under control but then became unruly after the cops arrived. His mother defended his behavior, saying that “kids are going to be kids” and calling Adams’ comments “disrespectful.” “That was a very disrespectful comment,” Lucas said to the New York Daily News.
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“They put their hands on my kids, not one but two of them, of course he’s going to feel threatened,” she added, adding that none of her seven children had ever been in trouble with the law before. John claimed that a cop blocked him from searching for his missing 18-year-old brother during the commotion that separated them.
“[The officer] grabs me, and I said don’t touch me. I went into the park, he pushes me and I push him back,” John told the outlet. “He throws his hands, and I throw my hands back to protect myself.” John claimed that he was injured during his arrest, including a bruised rib, a swollen foot, and cuts to his knees.
“They picked me up, they had me in my drawers, they were not pulling my pants up,” John said. “I had to kick them and do extra stuff so that I can try to get my sneakers,” after the shoes came off his feet. At least seven individuals were hurt and 66 were taken into custody as a result of the unrest in Union Square.
The New York Daily News reports that on Saturday, John was freed on his own recognizance. Beyond what Adams has previously said publicly about the disruption, the mayor’s office had no additional comment.
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