Staten Island, NY – Two teenagers were arrested yesterday in four separate paintball incidents that took place just over a week ago in Staten Island, one of which involved a resident of the borough’s Jewish community.
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17 year old Andrew Larstanna of Elias Place in Staten Island and 18 year old Nicholas Barranco of Bionia Avenue, also in Staten Island, were arrested yesterday by police. Both graduated St. Peter’s Boys High School this past June and police said neither of the two had been arrested previously.
Barranco was charged with Assault, Aggravated Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Reckless Endangerment in the July 10th attack of an Orthodox Jewish man who was walking on Westwood Avenue near Warwick Avenue when he was struck in the right arm by a paintball. Larstanna was charged with Assault and Aggravated Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the incident.
While police had been investigating the paintball attack as a possible hate crime, as previously reported on VIN News, there was no evidence found that supported any bias in the incident.
The two teens were also charged with Assault, Aggravated Criminal Possession of a Weapon and Reckless Endangerment in three more attacks on four females ranging in age from 16 to 67 that took place one day later.
Is that what the priests taught these two Italians in Catholic School for 12 years?
did the teens shoot paintballs at anyone else besides Jewish folks? If not, then to me it is a hate crime.
Of course it’s a hate crime. And willowbrook is a Jewish neighborhood.
My son has a large beard and wears a hat. He lived in Staten Island for one year and got many catcalls, whistles and car horns, shouts, etc. They are more vocal there than in Brooklyn.