A driver and his mother were inside a BMW that was attacked by a gang of bicyclists in New York City on Tuesday. The attack happened in broad daylight near Fifth Avenue and was captured on video. The perpetrators can be seen jumping on the vehicle, using a bicycle to damage the BMW, and attempting to open the car's doors.
The driver, Max Torgovnick, 36, recounted the harrowing ordeal that he and his mother experienced in an interview with The New York Post.
"That’s something like you would see on the streets of a war zone," said Torgovnick. "I never thought New York would get this bad."
According to Torgovnick, he and his mother, in her 70s, had just dropped off a donation to a nonprofit group working to address homelessness and the AIDS crisis when a bicycle gang of about 50 or so teenagers surrounded his vehicle.
"I slowed down to let them go by, but then they started surrounding the car on either side, and one of the bikers did a wheelie and went into the back of my car," recalled Torgovnick. "I stopped to make sure nobody was hurt."
That's when the group began attacking the vehicle and attempted to open the car's doors. Torgovnick said his mother screamed, "We're going to die, they're going to kill us," as she dialed 911. After one of the assailants shattered the windshield, Targovnick said he spotted an opening and managed to drive to safety.
Police are searching for the perpetrators, who also attacked a yellow cab around the same time and location, according to The Post.
While experts chided Americans to stay home much of the year, mobs have been roaming throughout the country destroying property and attacking bystanders, including a United States senator and his wife. Democrats and the media have been calling the perpetrators "peaceful protesters."
After a police officer was recently shot in New York City, Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York President Pat Lynch told Mayor Bill de Blasio to his face that today's criminals feel emboldened because of policies pushed by Democrats and the mayor.
"Why does a perp feel bold enough to shoot at a police officer? Lynch asked at a press conference. "That’s the question we have to ask and we have to answer. There’s a number of reasons this is happening. Lack of support on the street, defunding the police, bail reform, lack of prosecution. That’s why this is happening."
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City in the 2021 Democratic primary.