Melée at Times Square Boxing Match: Five Migrant Teens Arrested, Three Still at Large
Recalling a past migrant gang attack on cops in February 2024, the youths turned the Crossroads of the World into the setting of an unscripted Battle Royale, all while an outdoor boxing exhibition was underway. Two cops at center of this attack were uninjured.
| 12 May 2025 | 11:24
Police have arrested five young suspects in a gang that attacked two cops with scooters and basketballs during an outdoor boxing exhibition in Times Square on May 2. Police are still seeking at least three others.
One of the youths arrested was only 12 years old, cops said.
”Make no mistake, this is not low-level crime,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a press briefing May 6. “It’s organized violence carried out by gang members that we’ve already taken off the streets for preying on New Yorkers.”
Times Square itself was exceptionally crowded the evening of the attack since it was being used as the site of an outdoor boxing match with a bout between welterweights Ryan Garcia and Rolando “Rolly” Romero at the top of card. Promoted by the Saudi Arabian boxing impresario Turki al-Sheikh, the event was named for an upcoming video-game release, “Fatal Fury: City of Wolves.”
Seventh Avenue remained open to traffic, although many other streets around midtown were closed. As for the fights themselves, they were contested in a small, temporary arena just north of Broadway and 43rd Street, before 300 invitation-only guests. Actual fight fans were consigned to watching a video screen at 1 Times Square or finding the pay-per-view broadcast.
In the bare language of official police reports, the tumult begins, “At approximately 7:34pm two NYPD police officers observed a physical altercation at the intersection of West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in the confines of the Midtown South Precinct.”
It’s believed the dispute the cops responded to involved a gang of Venezuelan teenagers and other teens that was initially broken up by cops.
That in turn roused a mob, some of whom began attacking the two officers, throwing various objects at them, including an umbrella, a scooter, and a basketball.
After this fast, chaotic scrum—much of it caught on video—the youths fled east on foot toward Seventh Avenue.
Before the story hit the regular press on the morning of May 3, the X account @ViralNewsNYC, which often reports on events in Midtown South, posted a short video of the assault..
On May 5, the story hit the New York Post and elsewhere, along with the news that three “young” suspects had been arrested, a number that increased to five a couple of days later.
Officials said the suspects were members of “Los Diablos de la 42”—aka the “Little Devils of 42nd Street”—the youth-league version of the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. When Straus News reported on Los Diablos last October, its headline read “Migrant Youth Gang . . . Terrorizes Times Square, Repeat Arrests Mean Little.”
”It’s horrific enough to be a victim of a crime, but when someone openly assaults a police officer, you are attacking our symbol of safety and it cannot be tolerated,” said Mayor Eric Adams, who brought Tisch and other top NYPD brass with him to his May 6 briefing. The briefings, once held weekly, have been held with much less frequency over the past month as Adams has been hammered with questions about tariffs, his cooperation with the Trump administration, and the migrant crackdown. Adams clearly sought to hammer home a message in this briefing.
NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Savino elaborated on Los Diablos’ use of Times Square as both a crime opportunity and a social media stage, from which members frequently post about their exploits online.
”Now, we’re seeing that structure. There’s actually kick-ups where people are recruiting these younger members as young as 11,” explained Savino, “and they’ve been described at some of these robbery incidents as young as 8 years old.”
Savino estimates Los Diablos’ robbery crew at around 37 members, leading to 240 arrests to date—some suspects with at least six each.
Teens and pre-teens involved in the activities often boast about their crimes on TikTok and other social media outlets.
Cops are hunting down the remaining suspects, including: a male, approximately 15 to 20 years old, last seen wearing a black mask, black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and black sneakers; a second male, with a medium complexion, approximately 15- to 20 years old, last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and yellow sneakers; and a third male, with medium complexion, approximately 15 to 20 years old, last seen wearing a light-blue camouflage hooded sweatshirt, light blue jeans, and black-and-white sneakers.
Among those already arrested is a 12-year-old boy, who was also arrested in a February 2024 Times Square attack against two cops; an 18-year-old; two 17-year-olds; and a 14-year-old. The charges against them are unclear at press time.
On May 7, cops arrested a 16-year-old male within the confines of the Midtown South Precinct. He was charged with two counts each of: Attempted Assault on a Police Officer; Reckless Endangerment; Obstructing Governmental Administration, 2nd Degree; Riot, 2nd Degree; and Criminal Possession of a Weapon, 4th Degree.