Graphic content ahead
An African street vendor named Souleymane Porgo was beaten on a New York City street in a disturbing incident captured on video.
You can watch the video below, but be aware that it’s disturbing.
One of the suspects was seen casually eating as he walked away. Here’s another view:
According to The New York Daily News, Porgo “was set up in his usual spot on E. 149th St. and Third Ave., where he has hawked books, socks and other goods for over a decade with his brother.”
Souleymane Porgo. (GoFundMe)
The Daily News reports that Porgo had earlier confronted one of the men about a stolen purse, and he’d vowed to return with friends – and did.
Join me in praying for the recovery & healing of Souleymane Porgo, our brother brutally attacked last wk. We send ❤️ to his family & friends
Police had previously released names of two of the five suspects, identified as Enrique Foote and William Burgess. There were reports on May 9 that one of the suspects was in custody for the beating, which occurred the previous week.
NYCityAlerts: Just in: NYPD detectives have taken 1 male suspect into custody for brutally attacking an African vendor in #Bronx last week…
Foote was accused in an NYPD wanted poster of punching the victim and knocking him to the ground “causing serious injury,” along with the other suspects.
Here’s the wanted poster for Burgess:
William Burgess.
More than $23,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe site set up to help the vendor.
The site says, “We are raising money to help Souleymane Porgo, a street vendor who has sold books & handbags for more than 10 years at 149th Street and 3rd Avenue in the Bronx. Souleymane was viciously attacked by five people on Tuesday and is now in a coma, with a fractured skull, at Lincoln Hospital. The attack was captured on video and has been circulated widely in local media. Police are searching for these criminals now. Souleymane, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, has a wife and two small daughters. He is a member of our organization, the Street Vendor Project. We visited him and his family at the hospital this morning to offer our support. Any funds will be donated to Souleymane and his family to help pay medical bills, lost wages while Souleymane is out of work, and other expenses.”