Three teenagers who severely abused Fox News weatherman Adam Klotz on the New York subway have been released without charge.
Social media users were in an uproar today after finding out the suspects will not be prosecuted, with one person asking how safe anyone in the city can be.
The handling of the case has added fuel to criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has frequently been accused of being too “awake” and a criminal since he took office in November 2021.
Klotz was left with a black eye and injured ribs after he intercepted a group of teenagers allegedly molesting an elderly man on the tube around 1.15am on Sunday morning.
Klotz had injuries to the boy’s eyes and abrasions to his face, but said in a video uploaded to Instagram on Sunday the wounds on his body were worse
The case will no doubt fuel criticism facing woke Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg, who has often been accused of being too soft on crime
The weatherman, 37, uploaded a video to his Instagram Stories in which he looks defeated and both eyelids are covered in red and purple bruises.
Now a new video has surfaced showing the boys being arrested.
A spokesman for the New York City Police Department confirmed to that two 15-year-old men and a 17-year-old were arrested but handed over to their guardians on juvenile charges of assault.
Their names have not been published.
Just last week, Bragg came under fire for offering a plea to a man accused of an anti-Semitic attack and saying he would do it again.
Meanwhile, the attack on Klotz comes as data shows subway crime in New York rose 30 percent between 2021 and 2022.
Fox News weatherman Adam Klotz, 37, was beaten by teenagers on the subway after telling them to stop molesting an old man
In a statement, the NYPD said: “At approximately 1:13 a.m. on Sunday, January 22, 2023, the 37-year-old male victim was aboard a southbound Line 1 train, bound for the West 18 Street and 7 Avenue station approached as he observed a group of four teenagers acting disorderly on the train.
“The victim asked people to stop, after which they started attacking the victim and slapping him in the face several times.
“When the train arrived at the 18 Street and 7 Avenue stations, all four people and the victim exited the train.”
The statement added that police arrested three of the suspects while the fourth fled and they were unable to apprehend him.
“All were turned over to guardians with juvenile assault charges,” the NYPD added.
New Yorkers seemed horrified by today’s news as they took to Twitter to vent their frustration.
A user wrote: “Why were the thugs who attacked Adam Klotz released? How can anyone feel safe in the city?’
Another said: “None of these creatures spent even one night in prison. While Adam Kotz survived the attack, the next victim may not.’
But Klotz himself seemed to shed some light on the incident last night.
Twitter users were shocked to learn that none of the suspects had been charged
One user called Klotz’s attackers “creatures” and denounced the fact that they didn’t spend a night in jail
The beatings occurred at around 1:15 a.m. at the 18th Street station by the 1 train
He told his 7,000 followers, “While the headline I just read ‘Viciously Beaten By Teens’ is true, it does far more damage to my ego than physical caning.”
And he also insisted he wasn’t angry after a Twitter user expressed surprise that he’d managed to find humor in the incident.
Klotz, who is originally from Indiana, wrote: “Sorry friend. I won’t go through [sic] life angry. I’ll do the hard thing and find a way to smile and laugh while I do it.
The weatherman made headlines yesterday after he uploaded an Instagram video explaining he had been attacked.
He told his followers he was on his way home after watching the New York Giants NFL playoffs when he saw the teenagers molesting the older man.
In the video, he said: “I came home last night to watch this [New York] Giants game at a bar, on the subway, this elderly gentleman was molested by this group of seven or eight teenagers.
“I was like, ‘Yo, guys, let that out.’ And they decided, ‘Okay, he’s not going to get it, then you’re going to get it.
“And boy did they give it to me. They had me on the ground, my ribs are all sorts of bruises too. They brought in their hits.’
The old man Klotz said he was defending was fine and escaped unharmed, he said.
Crime on the subway has risen over the past year, but Mayor Eric Adams has suggested those stats simply reflect the fact that more people are using them in post-pandemic New York.
In response to the subway’s high crime rate, the city has sought to deploy more NYPD officers to man stations. This year, the department is spending an additional $20 million each month on police overtime, Bloomberg reported.
Klotz made light of the incident on Sunday when he joked the incident hurt his ego
The 37-year-old weatherman said he didn’t want to go through life “angry” about the attack
Bragg was elected Manhattan District Attorney in November 2021 and was led with a soft-spoken approach of using prison as a last resort.
He championed the promise of criminal justice reform and, after taking office, issued a controversial “Day One” memo saying he would seek jail time only for the most serious cases.
The same month that Bragg took office, career criminal William Rolon, charged with only one misdemeanor for threatening a store clerk with a knife, was told by a judge to “feel happy” about Bragg’s new policy .
Bragg’s sweeping changes asked prosecutors to drop the armed robbery charges and instead charge suspects with petty larceny — a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in prison — even if a weapon is involved, if the firearm wasn’t a real physical risk represents damage.