Teenagers attack homeless people in Binghamton

BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – In recent weeks, there have been reports of homeless people being attacked in the middle of the night in downtown Binghamton.

Local homeless advocates are joining forces to raise awareness of an alleged series of attacks by a group of teenagers.

The Chenango Street bus station has recently become a popular meeting place for people who have nowhere else to go.

A video posted on Facebook two weeks ago shows a heavy police presence at the bus station after one of these alleged attacks on homeless people.

The video was shot by homeless activist Jeff Carlson.

Carlson says he has noticed the same group of children running around near the bus station late at night for the past few weeks.

He says he was nearby the night he shot the video when he heard a commotion.

“And I heard a commotion that sounded like little kids, and then I heard someone screaming for help. I got to the bus stop and saw a man with blood on his face, obviously the one who had screamed for help, and another man who had just been beaten. There was a man who was sleeping, and they took a rock and went over to him and hit him on the head. I watched the ambulance take the man away,” Carlson says.

After the attack, police officers asked everyone to leave the premises as it was already after hours.

Carlson approached a Broome County Public Safety officer who patrols the station and asked why they had to leave since they didn’t feel safe anywhere else.

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to let us stay, just for safety reasons, safety in the group, tonight, let’s stay here. Even though the violence took place there, it’s after hours, it’s well lit, it was caught on video,” Carlson says.

Carlson says the confrontation between them escalated to the point where the officer knocked the phone out of Carlson’s hand and broke it.

NewsChannel 34 contacted Broome County Public Safety and learned that the county was aware of an incident involving juveniles at the bus stop, but that it was believed to be an isolated incident.

In response to the alleged attacks, the Wagon Train Warriors, a nonprofit organization that provides food and clothing to the homeless, held a rally on Friday, holding signs, chanting slogans and marching from the bus station to City Hall.

Carlson fears that the attacks on homeless people could be part of a gang initiation rite and that there could be more.

In the video taken by Carlson, one of the officers can be heard telling someone at the bus stop that he was on property in Broome County without a ticket.

Carlson believes the attacks may have been captured by surveillance cameras across the city and is urging law enforcement to review the footage.