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Friends Led Police to Teen Involved in Columbia Student's Death

2008_04_mhysus.jpgPolice say that two teenaged boys led them to the 13- (or 14-) year-old charged with manslaughter in the death of Columbia graduate student Minghui Yu. On Friday night, the teen had punched Yu in the face at a median on Broadway between 122nd and 123rd Streets. After a struggle, Yu managed to escape and ran into the street, only to be fatally hit by a car.

The police have not charged the two other boys, who were apparently hanging out with the suspect (they all attend William O'Shea Junior High School on West 77th Street) but did not participate in the attack. A police source told the Daily News, "We saw that it was only the actions of one of the kids that sent the victim into his flight." Additionally, surveillance footage appears to support that.

The boy, charged with second-degree manslaughter, was "showing off" to his friends, telling them, "Watch what I do to this guy," before preying upon Yu. The boy was transported to a juvenile detention facility yesterday; his aunt told reporters, "It's a mistake. That's it."

The Chinese consulate is working to help Yu's parents obtain expedited, special visas to claim their son's body. The executive vice president of Columbia's Chinese Students and Scholars Association Junhua Shen told Newsday that Yu's parents have never been abroad, "You know in China, every family only has one child. So, they lost him, they lost everything."

2008_04_colmap.jpgYu was head of public relations for the CUCSSA. There are more remembrances from Yu's friends and faculty at the Columbia Spectator.

And Columbia says the area where Yu was walking is north of campus, and therefore the NYPD's responsibility, though, per the NY Times, "campus security personnel are routinely stationed in areas beyond its borders." What's strange is that Columbia's campus map shows its campus reaches to West 122nd Street, where the Teachers College is. At any rate, Columbia campus security is increasing its patrols.

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Comments [rss]

  • RoDogg

    I'm sorry to say that because of incidents like these, blacks are always 2nd rate citizens in the US.



    Two lost uneducated kids don't make all black people second class citizens. That is the problem with racism, you are taking these two kids and trying to say ALL BLACKS ACT LIKE THIS, that's easy to say.



    Answer me this question: What is the difference between these two black kids and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (or better known as the Columbine High School killers)? Both Eric and Dylan came from loving married parents and still committed an unspeakable crime. Now would you call all whites second class citizens. Again, the majority of crimes in America a committed by whites but I'm sure you're not calling whites second class.



    Hmm, would you call Tiger Woods or Barack Obama second class citizens? Please, I bet if you seen Tiger Woods walking down the street you'll run and ask for his autograph and hug and kiss him. THESE TWO KIDS ARE TO BLAME, NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE.

  • pug_ster

    I'm sorry to say that because of incidents like these, blacks are always 2nd rate citizens in the US.

  • Snoopy

    Eyekant, can you list for us ten male black role models for the black youth, and more importantly non-black youth, of America can look up to?



    I'll start, Tiger Woods, Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones. Now it's your turn.

  • poopmast

    Not really, a lot of low lifes





    Korean Fathers - Abusive, chauvinistic, drunks who make poor financial decisions



    Japanese Fathers - extra marital affairs up the yin yang, alot of secret children (very Shawn Kemp-like)



    Chinese Fathers - extra marital affairs with women their daughter's age, gambling habits, additional wives and children in mainland china.

  • GOP

    Asian fathers stick around. That is why Asians don't need positive role models in popular society. As for Blacks, they don't have a father figure so they need positive role models in popular society to fill that void.



    Birth control is a wonderful thing. So is sterilization. And abortion. If you're on welfare, DON'T HAVE CHILDREN. It's really a simple formula.

  • smitty

    Really sad.

  • poopmast

    Jail time isnt going to do crap to this kid. Watch National Geographic, prison will just make them into smarter, stronger criminals.

  • poopmast

    #35



    I guess you have no positive role models like them Asians in order to advance in this society.

  • JRod5417

    Why are we blaming the victim? This poor guy, who appears to be slight of frame, is confronted by three teens, one of whom appears to be quite large, gets socked in the face and its his fault that he ended up falling onto oncoming traffic?! I'd love to see how you handle this situation. BTW, the thug should get shipped to China and included the Bodies exhibition.

  • rtd2101

    This just sucks. The kid is a sociopath, especially if he didn't show any remorse after the guy got hit by a car. He should be punished and punished severely. This hits particularly close to home for me, as I walk through this intersection nearly everyday on the way home.



    Also, it is too bad that some Gothamist posters always decide to turn a tragic event like this into an excuse to go on racist diatribes. It doesn't contribute anything, but, well, fear and loathing need outlets and what better place than on anonymous comments on a blog.

  • KhuntienNang

    these young kids action is disturbing. such a young age too. my iphone was stolen recently by a young black kid too, who just grabbed it right out from my hand on the subway and ran off. wtf? what's going to happen to them when then are adult?

  • JacqueMehoff

    uh oh, I'm finding myself slipping into "stuffwhitepeoplelike" number 62 mode. must stop.

    but I'm poor, too.

  • jpeditor

    Too bad they can't be shipped to China for trial...

  • babyhitler

    Obama is a positive role model. Right? but He doesn't count cause he's half white. how about tiger? half asian. halle barry? half white. quincy jones? half white. How abour run's house? that's a pretty good role model family for rich black people.

  • JacqueMehoff

    There are some things I don't agree with dr. henry l. gates jr., the part on rap music for one.

    but there is one thing he mentioned, that there are more board certified african american Cardiologists than there are african american pro basketball players.

  • Polemicist

    Ph:



    Within Western Civilization, this kind of behavior has been identified as highly criminal going back to the founding of the first cities in history. Until perhaps the past century, criminals like this were routinely executed. In many countries today where mitigating circumstances are not recognized, these kids would have been summarily executed if a police officer witnessed the crime.



    In any event, the kids should be sterilized. It is very rare for the progeny of juvenile delinquents to not be criminals also.

  • eyekantspel

    We have almost no positive black role models in this country...and the kicker is..the market embraces and extols the type of hyper-masculine deviant behavior that these teens display.

    That's a b.s. excuse. There are certainly positive black role models in this country. Maybe none in this kid's life, that remains to be seen, but it does not excuse his behavior.

  • gunther

    Juvenile detention? Picking up IEDs in Iraq would be more helpful.

  • Rocknrope

    Just to clear up some confusion:



    1) China has a one-child policy, not a "forced abortion if your child is a girl" policy. There are more female babies that wind up in orphanages, because of the traditional mentality of having a son care for parents in old age, etc.



    2) There are people who have more than one child, especially nowadays. They just have to pay a fine, which more of them can now afford to do because of growing entrepreneurship.



    3) The people who generally have to stick to the one-child poilcy are those who work in government jobs, where they not only may not have the money to pay the fine, but also risk losing their job.

  • babyhitler

    this is just like a clockwork orange but without the bowler hats, codpieces, and allegory about the sate society.

  • eyekantspel

    uh, ladyD, I think you are mistaking me for someone else.

  • fakenewyorker

    Seriously, have you seen the size of some of these kids? In the words of Jimmy the Greek, "The black is a superior ath-uh-lete." Racism aside, there is a kernel of truth.

  • ladyD

    Eyekantspel, you do not know how it feel to get beaten by two kids.



    Two years ago, I was beaten by a 16 and a 18 years old teen. One of them hold me down while the other punch me in the face and ribs. Threw me to the concrete floor and threaten to hurt me more if I stop screaming. And then rob my gym clothes thinking it was money. AND I"M A GIRL. One of them were arrested and went to jail for 3 years.



    AND my dad, who is 58, was beaten by young kids just for fun. He could not walk for 2 months. This was 3 months after my attack.



    THIS SHIT NEEDS TO STOP!!!!

  • Spirit of 76

    The kid's not going to get much (if any) jail time in this country and he'll just come out harder and meaner anyway. Can we extradite him to China? I hear they have, uh... "ways" of dealing with scum like him.

  • just saying

    No one has mentioned it so far, but I can't help thinking that this kid sized up the situation and decided that a slight Asian male probably wouldn't fight back. It's more likely than not that this cowardly kid wouldn't have picked on someone who he thought would fight back.





    Bullies are basically cowards who look for someone easy to pick on.

  • eyekantspel

    any grown man who feels the need to run into traffic to save himself from a 13 or 14yr old boy needs to have his head examined... or get splattered all over the street which is a good enough outcome for me.



    okay, I'll bite. you are an asshole.

  • ihateallbrokers

    any grown man who feels the need to run into traffic to save himself from a 13 or 14yr old boy needs to have his head examined...



    or get splattered all over the street which is a good enough outcome for me.

  • Snoopy

    One must admit the quality of surveillance video has improved quite considerably in the last few years.



    It's going to be pretty hard for the little thug to squirm out of it.

  • GOP

    Sparkling wiggles is all I gotta see. My bet: this guy doesn't have a father and therefore his father figure is his overcompensating mother (and/or aunt?) or his 30 yr old grandmother. Or Chris Henry. Or Pacman Jones. Or Tank Johnson. Or OJ Simpson.



    Black men -- TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIDS! Stop having five baby mommas. Geez!

  • JenChungsBaby

    I thought that too dkim, to think how I would react in the same situation. But the fact is that even if the kid was a midget he could still be armed. And even though the perp acted alone he wasn't alone, and the victim had no way to know the intentions of the perp's two friends. The best choice is to get out of there, but preferably without running in front of a car (easy for me to say).

  • Steven

    Hopefully these punks are put away for a very long time.

  • JacqueMehoff

    no, he got sucker punched. in a group setting it's called wilding. in a recession it's called breaking into your car to get loose change.

  • just saying

    What a waste of life. By all accounts, Yu was an exceptionally intelligent, hard-working student.



    Yes, it is too bad that the parents of the 13 year old can't be held directly accountable for the actions of their depraved spawn.

  • The Edge

    I dunno, when I went to China, things didn't seem AS bad as certain people always claim it is.



    I mean, it's far below our own standards of living, but I didn't see any mass beatings on the street or shit like that.

  • dkim2015

    he got beat up by a 13 year old?

  • David

    #17, someone can tell Al that if they want to stop being treated like second-class citizens, they have to stop acting like second-class citizens.



    Sorry, it's just the truth.

  • poopmast

    Increased patrols will only draw more ire from the black community. Al Sharpton will have a field day.

  • whitecastlerock

    When I heard about this incident, it made me sick to my stomach. It matters little if the victim was an only child, or that the NYPD's patrols were lacking. The real issue is the depraved indifference demonstrated by the perpetrator. Looking to show off for his pals, he attacks some random person on the street. What was the point? To flex his muscles for juvie detention? There are more young punks like him looking for street cred at alarming rates. Have we already forgotten the young man in east Harlem chased into traffic by a marauding pack of teens allegedly shouting, "Get whitey!"??? Now some little piece of shit's actions wipes out a brilliant young man. Let's not make excuses for his actions to justify this senseless crime. Increased patrols around the campus will only make the gangsters move onto different areas. Let's eradicate the "thug" life style altogether—before more innocent lives are impacted...

  • eyekantspel

    i wish they could make the parents pay for the cost of this kid's incarceration.

  • Jen Chung

    What I meant by "strange" is that Columbia doesn't claim its campus extends north of 120th Street-- strange because it has many Columbia buildings up there.

  • Spear_Chucker

    The real tragedy is the death of the student. He had a promising future and would've surely touched many lives. The same can not be said for the 13 year old thug and his entire family combined.

  • west side Michael

    I feel so sad for the family.

    China has mandatory abortion usually of girl babies.

    China's civil rights are horrid equal to most of

    Africa. Why are we having the Olympics there?

    I predicted this criminal sicko would be turned in.

    It's the deal of the deck, I was mugged at gunpoint

    I threw my wallet on the ground ,the robber picked it up and ran off.I was lucky we learned to do this

    from the community precinct meeting at the local

    NYPD station.They told us to work on an instinct

    of abandon property and resistance in such a situation.

    You can also have a Post office box on your drivers

    license so if your wallet is taken or purse the

    thief will not know where to go with your house

    keys and obviously where you live.

  • RoDogg

    Please, that One-child policy won't fly in America. Haven't you heard, America is the land of sex and opportunity. We are the land of 3.4 children per household and 2.8 children per single parent, we need to produce often.



    This is a sad event. These young kids minds are so tainted and underdeveloped its a shame. No word from the mother and father, but the aunt tells me that this child, or these kids, had no strong structure family life. And maybe its me but the phrase "Columbia campus security is increasing its patrols" kinda tells me that when they see black kids walking anywhere near Columbia, most likely they are going to stop them and question them about being in the area.

  • JenChungsBaby

    I'm sure to the kid/perp the biggest mistake was getting caught. He's probably right now blaming the victim for running in front of a car.

  • chris

    I miss The Wire. Make it come back.

  • anopneumous

    I wonder if the aunt was referring to the birth of the 13-year-old boy as the mistake.

  • Peter

    What did his [the criminal's] mother and father have to say about his actions?



    Father?

  • Spear_Chucker

    What happened to not snitching? The decline of black ethics like this is going to ruin the black community. You heard it here first.

  • Snoopy

    "his aunt told reporters, "It's a mistake. That's it.""



    What did his mother and father have to say about his actions?

  • zodak

    let's celebrate the defeat of the "don't snitch" movement.

  • turkishjade
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