NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson sustained minor injuries when they were assaulted on a Manhattan street by four men and a woman as they went for an evening walk, police said Saturday.
The 70-year-old former governor, a Democrat, and his 20-year-old stepson, Anthony Sliwa, were walking on an Upper East Side street about 8:30 p.m. Friday when they were attacked, the New York Police Department and a spokesperson for Paterson said.
Both were treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries to the face and were released early Saturday, authorities said.
Paterson, who is legally blind, also sustained minor injuries to his body.
In a statement, police labeled the attack a “gang assault” and sought help from the public to learn more about the assault.
Paterson served as governor from 2008 to 2010, assuming the post after Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal.
Sean Darcy, a spokesperson for Paterson, said in a statement that the people involved in the assault apparently had a previous interaction with Sliwa.
Paterson and Sliwa were able to fight off their attackers, Darcy said.
Paterson and his wife, Mary, “are thankful for the quick response time from the police and the outpouring of support they have received from people across all spectrums,” Darcy said.
He added that Paterson’s main concern Saturday was New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga as he leads the Mets in their opening playoff game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
FILE - Then-New York Gov. David Paterson speaks during an interview at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Tim Roske, File)
MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.
Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.
Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.
Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”
He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."
On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”
A German-based organization called Athiest Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not a part of the group and claimed that he made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, which it said were false.
“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms," the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks."
An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)
A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
