NEWBURGH – Seven students have been arrested by Newburgh City Police in connection with an attack on a Newburgh Free Academy student. That assault prompted the victim to bring a knife to school in an effort to protect himself.
All seven suspects have been charged with two counts of felony robbery.
Five alleged assailants, all 17, were arrested last Thursday, April 11. Charged with two counts of robbery each are Joseph Cotton, Percy Smith, Jaden Shelby, Mark Robinson, and Jermaine Robinson, all 17 and all from Newburgh.
On Monday, police arrested two more people involved in the incident, both 16 years old and facing the same charges. Due to their juvenile status, their names were not released.
On April 3 at about 2:30 p.m., the community resource officer assigned to the Main Campus of NFA saw a group of 50 to 75 students in the area of South Street and Robinson Avenue.
The officer radioed for additional units to disperse the crowd. It eventually moved through Downing Park spilling into the area of Dubois Street near St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital where a fight began.
Officers located a male student who had been assaulted and sustained minor injuries.
It was determined that earlier in the day the victim had a problem with another student and school staff attempted to diffuse it so there would not be any problems on school grounds.
Police investigated and learned the student had been beaten and robbed of his cell phone by a large group of other students. On April 8, the student who had been attacked brought a knife into school and the police department’s community resource officer sustained minor cuts while disarming the youth.
