Two people have been detained after a 38-year-old man with a disability was attacked with a brick at Jersey City’s Journal Square Transportation Center last week, according to police.
The man was sitting on the ground around 4:50 p.m. Thursday, waiting for his sister, when “a savage, brutal thug with a long criminal history, viciously and without any provocation,” punched him in the head, according to the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association.
As the victim was bleeding on the ground, the assailant returned and beat him again with the brick.
Officers responded and assisted the man, while other cops scoured the neighborhood and located the attacker.
Port Authority police charged Troy Laboo with attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault, firearms violations, and endangering the injured victim.
The union later apprehended a woman they identified as his accomplice. Shana Davis was charged with conspiracy to commit attempted murder, severe assault, endangering an injured victim, and weapons charges.
The victim was hospitalized due to significant injuries.
He’s considered “well-known by the public and Port Authority PATH cops as a friendly, kind, and gentle person who waits there daily to greet his sister as she returns from work,” according to the Port Authority Bus Association.
PBA officials praised officers Tyler Ringwood, Daniel Kacsmar, Jeremy Barishman, Matthew Maiello, and Daniel Lapore, as well as Sgt. Sean Gallagher, for their actions in treating the victim and apprehending the perpetrator.
Laboo and Davis, both 38-year-old Jersey City residents, have pre-trial intervention hearings next month.
A public defender represents each individual.