Nathaniel DiRenzo, a 29-year-old man, was caught on video attacking an 11-year-old child who was misbehaving in a Manhattan park.
The New York dog walker, who had not been identified for two days, also went after her 15-year-old friend when she tried to intervene.
The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon in Stuyvesant Square at the intersection of East 16th Street and Perlman Place. According to reports, three dog walkers got into an exchange with the alleged victim and her classmates.
The children were throwing dirt and poppers on the ground. Some animal lovers report that poppers tend to scare dogs. The dog walkers got angry.
The girl reportedly approached the man from Saint Marks Place, and he responded by punching her. He was yelling, sprayed her face with water, and grabbed her by the hair.
More to this story…from FB Tompkins sq dog run group pic.twitter.com/JFjI1IO73N
— Brohattan (@brohattan) October 23, 2021
That is when the boy tried to help the child and got hit too. The girl and her pal suffered some injuries. She was taken to Mt. Sinai Beth Israel and is in stable condition. EMS treated the friend at the scene.
DiRenzo lives in an East Village apartment, and a man who works in the same area told local media: “It’s gratifying to see the police doing their job. That somebody would commit a heinous act like that on a little girl…no matter what transpired.”
Rachel, a woman, who witnessed the entire incident, brought up the racial element. She said: “This man grabbed her by the neck, her chest, and punched her in the head. Eleven-year-old Black young girl. This is not normal. He’s dangerous.”
Some have blamed the girl for being unruly and supposedly aggressive and said that if she did not misbehave in the first place, the situation might not have escalated.
A dog owner explained: “There’s no supervision. It’s been going on for years. That was the nice thing about COVID. They weren’t here.”
Some have also said that parents need to do a better job explaining to children how to behave in public. Others have suggested that the divide is along political and racial lines.
Authorities might have settled the debate and agree that no lousy behavior justifies attacking a child.
DiRenzo was arrested Saturday morning. He was later charged with second-degree strangulation, two counts of assault, second-degree harassment, and two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child.
DiRenzo’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court is expected soon.
