Masked dirt bike riders surrounded and attacked a white SUV stopped at a traffic light on Richmond Avenue in Staten Island’s Bulls Head neighborhood on Wednesday, video shows, prompting the NYPD to promise arrests are coming.
Footage obtained by Fox News Digital shows several riders kicking and striking the vehicle while another threw an object at it. As the driver tried to pull away, the SUV ran over a dirt bike that had been positioned in front of it.
NYPD Assistant Chief John Buttacavoli told reporters Thursday that police are gathering intelligence and closing in on suspects.
“We know who you are, and you will be getting a knock on your door very soon,” Buttacavoli said. “It stops here. We’re taking action.”
Buttacavoli said the behavior has moved past a quality-of-life nuisance into outright criminal activity. He said police have already identified several individuals and seized numerous illegal bikes this year as part of a task force dedicated to the problem.
Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon did not mince words about the riders.
“Like a plague of locusts, they descend upon drivers who are just going about their business here on Staten Island,” McMahon said. “They’re jackals, they’re teenage terrorists, and it’s not going to be tolerated here in our borough.”
McMahon called the incident “simply outrageous” and said, based on information available to officials, no one was seriously injured.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said Wednesday’s confrontation is part of a broader pattern of reckless and dangerous behavior tied to motorized bikes across the borough.
“A bunch of punks who are literally terrorizing drivers… Enough. This game is over,” Fossella said.
Fossella put parents on notice directly, saying their children are endangering innocent people.
“Your kid is terrorizing innocent people when they’re just going about their business. It’s wrong, and it needs to stop,” he said.
McMahon warned that parents could face legal and financial exposure if their children use illegal motorized vehicles to intimidate or hurt others, including civil liability for injuries. His office said in a statement that “parents also must take responsibility for their children.”
The NYPD reminded residents that certain motorized vehicles must be registered, insured, and operated only by licensed drivers.
State Assemblyman Mike Reilly, R-Staten Island, plans to introduce legislation in January that would make parents financially responsible when minors are caught recklessly operating certain motorized vehicles, the New York Post reported. The bill would set fines between $250 and $1,500.
The incident remains under investigation. No arrests have been announced.
