'Little Trash' - Pre-Teens get the best of New York's Finest - What a joke

On May 3, 2025, around 7:30 p.m., two NYPD officers were attacked in Times Square near 42nd Street and 8th Avenue while attempting to intervene in what appeared to be a "wolfpack-style" robbery involving a group of about 10 to 12 individuals targeting three people. The assailants, identified as members of "Los Diablos de la 42" (Little Devils of 42nd Street), a subset of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, ambushed the officers, pelting them with scooters, basketballs, bottles, and other makeshift weapons in a planned and deliberate attack. The officers sustained minor injuries but were reported to be okay.

The suspects, ranging in age from 12 to 19, included a 12-year-old boy previously arrested at age 11 for a string of Central Park robberies in 2024. Five suspects, all Venezuelan migrants, were arrested, with charges including riot, attempted assault on a police officer, obstructing governmental administration, and criminal possession of a weapon. A 16-year-old and a 17-year-old faced additional felony charges, with the 17-year-old charged as an adult. Three to seven other suspects, believed to be between 15 and 20 years old, remain at large, and the NYPD has released surveillance images to aid in their capture.

Los Diablos de la 42, a group of about 20 to 37 young migrants, some as young as 11, operate out of city-funded migrant shelters, such as the Roosevelt Hotel, and are known for committing armed robberies, snatch-and-grab thefts, and other crimes in Times Square and beyond, including Central Park and Queens. The gang has been linked to at least 50 robberies in Manhattan, escalating from petty thefts to gunpoint heists, with 240 arrests among its members, many of whom are repeat offenders. Their youth and New York’s lenient bail reform laws often result in their release, allowing them to continue criminal activities.

The NYPD used its controversial gang database to quickly identify and apprehend some suspects, a tool Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch defended as critical for public safety despite criticism from legal groups and City Council members who argue it unfairly targets minorities. Mayor Eric Adams condemned the attack, stating that those who assault police officers or prey on New Yorkers should lose their right to remain in the country, emphasizing deportation for convicted offenders. The incident has fueled debates over immigration, sanctuary city policies, and the handling of juvenile offenders, with authorities noting the gang’s recruitment of vulnerable children from migrant shelters.

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