On Wednesday, the New York Police Department announced the arrest of two underage Venezuelan illegal immigrants on charges of assault and robbery. The suspects, aged 11 and 17, are accused of a series of violent subway muggings and robberies that took place in New York City, according to a report by the New York Post.

The two suspects were apprehended around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old passenger on a Manhattan-bound 7 train near the Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave stop in Queens, police said. They were caught outside the notorious Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Midtown Manhattan.

 

The 11-year-old suspect has been identified by police as the “primary aggressor” in the incident, which occurred around 8:40 p.m. The victim informed the NYPD that the suspects “attacked” and “jumped” him on the train. When he “fought back,” the illegal immigrant minors stole his phone and passed it around.

“He was just up in my face and stuff like that,” the victim told the paper, describing the youngest suspect as the instigator. “He was essentially provoking it,” he added. The 11-year-old suspect was also captured on surveillance video using stolen credit cards linked to a series of violent robberies in Central Park, police said.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell informed reporters: “At this point in time, we’re ready to call it: This is a migrant robbery pattern.” Authorities have connected 10 related robberies to a group of 12 minor illegal immigrant male suspects. Chief Chell stated, “We think they’re responsible for most of them if not all of them.”

A law enforcement source told the New York Post that police suspect the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang is behind the robberies. It was reported in February that this gang has been responsible for at least 62 robberies in NYC.