A 13-year-old migrant boy and three masked accomplices stabbed a man during a brutal attack near Times Square on Sunday, all because he refused to take their photo, according to police and sources.
The Ecuadorian teen and his group approached a 23-year-old man around 9 p.m. at West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue, asking him to take their picture. When the man declined, the group attacked, punching him in the face and stabbing him in the back and leg with a brass-knuckle knife, authorities said.
They also attempted to steal his cellphone but failed, police said.
The suspects fled the scene, but officers managed to catch the teen after searching the area with the victim.
The boy, whose last known address is the notoriously crime-ridden Roosevelt Hotel, was charged with second-degree robbery, sources confirmed.
The victim, who sustained only superficial stab wounds, declined medical treatment after the attack, according to police.
The other three suspects remain at large and were last seen wearing all black clothing and black face masks, sources added.
This arrest marks the second for the teen, who was previously detained on October 26 for a chain-snatching incident on a northbound F train at McDonald Avenue and Avenue X in Brooklyn, law enforcement sources said.
In that case, four other suspects were involved, and the victim, who had been sleeping before the attack, fought back as they held him down.
The teen’s latest arrest near Times Square follows recent remarks from NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri, who told The Post that the department is “arresting juveniles at the highest level than we have ever seen before.”
“We are seeing juveniles commit five, six, seven robberies. Most of them get dealt with under the Family Court statutes,” Lipetri added.
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