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Subway Beating Video, Fact or Fiction
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 6, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 6, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
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After a video of a man being harassed and beaten by a group of teens was publicized by The Smoking Gun, some wonder if the tape is real. The main reason why most people suspect it could be staged is because the teen who filmed the incident is an aspiring filmmaker.
Seventeen-year-old Kadejra Holmes told The Smoking Gun she didn't have anything to do with the attack and then took the video off YouTube. Her parents told the Post she was not involved in the fight, "She was on the train when it happened. She didn't know it was going to come to this."
They also confirmed their daughter, who was "scared" and "afraid,"had been arrested on Sept. 3 along with an underage pal for assaulting a 24-year-old woman aboard the J train between the Lorimer Street and Essex Street stops."
The director of the after school program where Holmes studies filmmaking told the Daily News the video was not part of the program and "something she did on her own private time."
She added that she was meeting with Holmes and her mother to make sure they went to the police. The police are also looking to see if there are any complaints on file.
And comments:
- NYC Transit Authority: "If the incident did in fact happen, it is unfortunate as one instance of criminal activity in our system is one too many. As the NYPD will surely tell you, crime in the system is at historically low levels."
- Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa told WCBS 2: "Whether it's virtual or it's real, it's just a sign of the times. Females go out there; give beat downs to people indiscriminately because they want to prove they're as macho, maniacal as their knuckleheaded peers who are male gang bangers."
- Reverend Al Sharpton , if the video is real: "We denounce this despicable act of violence and stand ready to support the victim in any way as he pursues justice in this vicious incident."
See the video here at The Smoking Gun.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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