An off-duty officer tackled one of the attackers and police are trying to identify others.
Stamford police are trying to identify several Stamford Academy students who they said were involved in a “heinous daytime attack” yesterday.
A 16-year-old student is accused of punching a man in the face, breaking his nose. Several other students then tried to steal the victim’s cell phone, according to police.
The attack happened in the area of 60 Atlantic St. around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The victim said he was walking when between six and eight teenage boys wearing khaki pants and green sweatshirts with “Stamford Academy” embroidery started throwing snowballs at him and he asked them to stop.
Instead of stopping, the group started to attack him, police said.
An off-duty officer who was stopped at a stoplight saw the attack and yelled for the boys to stop, police said.
Then the officer saw a teen, later identified as a 16-year-old Bridgeport boy, punch the victim in his face and several members from the group attempt to steal the victim’s cell phone, police said.
The officer tackled and detained the Bridgeport teen and the others ran off, police said.
More officers quickly arrived to assist the off-duty officer and took the juvenile to the Stamford Police Juvenile division.
He has since been was charged with second-degree assault, criminal attempt at robbery in the second degree, interfering with police and breach of peace and taken to the Bridgeport Detention Center.
Police have not released his name, but said he is a Stamford Academy student.
The victim was taken to Stamford Hospital to be treated for a broken nose and several lacerations on his face and arm.
The Stamford Police are investigating and said they will try to identify all Stamford Academy students involved in the attack.
Stamford Academy is a school for students in grades nine through 12 who struggled in traditional school environments or had dropped out. The school is focused on providing a supportive educational environment where they can focus on their studies and believe in themselves.
Domus, a Stamford-based organization, oversees the school.
"We have been made aware of Thursday’s incident; if our students were in fact involved, we are very disappointed because it is in direct conflict with the principles we teach and model," Mike Duggan, executive director of Domus,said in a statement.
"We will continue to work with our students to equip them with the skills to make better decisions and will continue to push for improvements in the mental health care system to help those who struggle with this issue. We ask that any Stamford Academy youth involved in this incident or with knowledge of this incident either turn themselves in to the police and take responsibility for their actions or contact Stamford Academy school leadership to help the police solve this case. We apologize and are very sorry this happened," said a Stamford organization that helps high-need, vulnerable youth," the statement said.
