Boys, aged 12 and 13, charged over attack on ex-New York governor David Paterson and stepson

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Two boys, aged 12 and 13, were arrested Saturday in connection with an assault on former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson, police said.

Paterson, 70, and his stepson, Anthony Sliwa, 20, were attacked around 8:30 p.m. Friday while they were out for a walk on Manhattan's Upper East Side. They were treated at a hospital for minor injuries to the face.

Paterson, who is legally blind, also sustained injuries to his body.

The two boys were both charged with gang assault. Police did not identify them by name because they are minors. Authorities have said at least five people were involved in the attack. They sought help from the public to learn more about the assault.

Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, assuming the post after Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. He was the state’s first Black governor.

Paterson said Saturday that his stepson was walking the family dog when he first encountered some of the assailants, telling them he would summon the police if they did not stop climbing up the fire escape of a building on Second Avenue.

Later, Paterson said, he and Sliwa, the son of Guardian Angels anti-crime group founder Curtis Sliwa, went for a walk, encountered the group and argued with them before two of them attacked Paterson and his stepson.

Paterson said his son fought off multiple attackers, but he ended up with a cut to the face that required several stitches.