Four Arrested in Attack on NYU Student

Police have arrested four teenagers for the death of Broderick Hehman, a New York University student who was struck by a car as he allegedly fled from a group of attackers in East Harlem.

Hehman, 20, ran into the intersection of 125th Street and Park Avenue on the evening of March 24, when he was hit by a silver Mercedes-Benz. Witnesses reported that several young assailants were pursuing him at the time. The victim died late Tuesday from injuries sustained in the accident.

Andre Johnson and Hassan Mayfield, both 15, were arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree attempted robbery. Two 13-year-olds, Denzel Fell and Bobby Guzman, were also arrested and written up on the same charges. A police source said that the four were being treated as adults.

According to witnesses quoted in several media accounts, the crime might have been race-related, as one of the assailants reportedly yelled some variation of "Get the white boy!" Police have not labeled the crime a bias incident, a decision that has drawn fire from activists including civil rights attorney Norman Siegel and the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement.

Police said that the suspects were also caught by a security camera vandalizing a nearby McDonald's earlier in the evening.