NEW YORK CITY — A 14-year-old boy was charged with hate crimes for his alleged role in attacking women across Midtown last week by setting their clothes on fire, police said.
The unidentified teenager, who was seen in one surveillance photo wearing a white t-shirt and white headphones, was charged Friday with attempted assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment for the alleged targeted attacks on women — all hate crime charges, according to police.
The boy was arrested in connection with a Sept. 10 attack in which two male suspects set a teenage girl's T-shirt on fire as she walked along West 42nd Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway about 8 p.m., before being chased off by the girl's mother, police said.
After the first reported victim — a Muslim woman wearing a hijab — had her blouse set on fire in front of the Valentino store at 693 Fifth Ave. about 9 p.m. Sept. 10, police originally looked into the possibility that the attacks were related to religion. But attacks on at least five other women not wearing religious clothing that day were later connected, and police now believe the attacks were linked only by the victims' gender.
The boy in custody is believed to have been involved in all but the incident against the Muslim woman, a police source said.
Police are looking for at least one other male suspect who may be connected to the attacks, after at least six women were assaulted by suspects using a lighter in Midtown. He was around the same age, and was last seen wearing a black tank top, according to the NYPD.
Police said they are also looking to question a man and three women in connection with the attacks. They are considered persons of interest, but not suspects, officials said.
