A second person was arrested Wednesday in connection with last week’s chaotic snowball fight in Washington Square Park, during which multiple police officers were struck and injured by flying snowballs, police reportedly said.
Eric Wilson Jr., 18, was charged with misdemeanor obstructing government administration and harassment, the New York Police Department (NYPD) said, Fox 5 New York reported. Wilson turned himself in on Wednesday morning, according to the New York Post.
“This second arrest sends an important message,” Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), said. “These shameful attacks on our police officers last week were serious. It wasn’t a game. It didn’t end when the snow melted. This was a vicious attack on our police officers and, our police officers, it had consequences on them.”
The snowball fight erupted last Monday as an organized event promoted on social media. When NYPD officers reportedly arrived to contain the crowd, they were pelted with snowballs that allegedly contained rocks. Two officers went to the hospital for treatment of head and facial injuries, the PBA said.
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Following the incident, authorities released images of four individuals and made their first arrest three days later.
Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was the first suspect taken into custody and was initially charged with felony assault on a police officer.
However, prosecutors declined to pursue a felony assault charge, saying there was no proof the officers’ injuries were directly caused by Coulibaly, Fox 5 reported. His charges were reduced to misdemeanor obstruction of government administration and harassment, the outlet said.
The NYPD added that Coulibaly was arrested less than three weeks before the incident for an attempted robbery in the transit system.
Hendry claimed that the snowballs thrown contained ice and rocks, resulting in injuries to multiple officers.
“This was not just a ‘snowball fight.’ This was an assault — by adults throwing chunks of ice and rocks — that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries,” Hendry previously said in a statement.
In a post on social media, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch added the participants involved should be punished for their “disgraceful” and “criminal” actions.
“I want to be very clear,” Tisch said. “The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that while police officers should be treated with respect, the individuals involved should not face charges.
“As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect,” his spokesperson said. “The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.”
On the other hand, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul struck a firmer tone, saying criminal charges appear to be appropriate.
“Our police officers put themselves in harm’s way every single day, and there is no circumstance where it’s OK to throw anything at a police officer,” Hochul said, according to Fox 5.
