On March 10th, the case of a Chinese-American student at 201 Middle School in Brooklyn being beaten by a Middle Eastern man went to trial. The defendant, Hassan Saab, refused to accept the prosecution’s plea deal of three years in prison and opted to go to trial. During the trial, the victim, Brian Lei, his father, Tingde Lei, and his cousin, Joseph, testified, providing details of the incident and the intense conflict between the two parties. Several members of the Brooklyn Chinese community attended the court session to express their concerns.
On September 28, 2023, in the afternoon, 13-year-old Brian was playing basketball with some white and African American classmates at the basketball court behind 201 Middle School. Two Middle Eastern brothers tried to join in but were rejected. The older brother, Ali, forcefully grabbed the ball, leading to a physical altercation between the two groups of children, resulting in the younger brother being injured and bleeding. The two brothers immediately contacted their family members.
Shortly after, the two Middle Eastern brothers’ uncle, Saab, and mother arrived. Brian was identified as the assailant by the younger brother on their way home, prompting Saab to attack Brian, causing injuries that required medical attention. The school reported the incident to the police, who launched an investigation.
Two days later, on September 30th (Saturday), Saab, the two Middle Eastern brothers, and their mother went to Brian’s house to instigate a conflict, resulting in a violent confrontation in the front yard. Although Brian did not step out, he witnessed the events unfold through a window.
Brian described the sequence of events in court, while video footage of the incident was played, showing Saab assaulting Brian.
Tingde Lei confirmed that after receiving a call from his son on September 28th, he rushed to the school and saw bruising on his son’s face and neck in the ambulance. The following morning, he watched a video clip captured by a bystander at the school, clearly showing his son being assaulted.
When Saab and his family members arrived at Mr. Lei’s house on the morning of September 30th to provoke them, Tingde attempted to prevent them from entering but was struck with a baseball bat by Saab.
At the age of 54, Mr. Lei stated that when the two Middle Eastern teenagers rang the doorbell, he immediately recognized them as the assailants from the video on September 28th. He promptly had his wife call the police as the school had advised to report any sightings of that family member immediately.
Mr. Lei, for self-defense, first grabbed a snow scraper and then a snow shovel, waving the shovel at one point but not causing harm to anyone. However, he was struck with a baseball bat by Saab, resulting in two broken finger bones and bleeding, as well as a head injury. In the chaos, Mr. Lei’s nephew, Joseph, was also attacked, with Saab putting his arm around Joseph’s neck.
Mr. Lei’s head wound required stitches, and the hand fracture affected his ability to work. As he worked in a jewelry store doing delicate diamond-setting work, the injury left him unable to work for over five months, and he still experiences numbness and pain in his fingers during long hours of work.
The surveillance video of September 30th was played during the trial, showing Joseph answering the doorbell, followed by Mr. Lei and his wife appearing and calling the police. In the footage, Saab took a few steps into Mr. Lei’s front yard, and Mr. Lei pushed him sideways. Eventually, a physical altercation ensued, during which Saab briefly left, retrieved a baseball bat from the car parked at the corner, and struck Mr. Lei’s fingers.
Joseph recalled during his testimony that shortly after the two teenagers rang the doorbell, Saab appeared. He emphasized that he did not initiate the attack but acted out of self-defense and to protect his family. In the scuffle, Saab briefly grabbed his neck, causing shoulder pain, numbness in the neck, and dizziness.
During cross-examination, the defense lawyer tried to highlight various points, including Brian’s larger stature compared to other students during the brawl on September 28th, the fact that the Middle Eastern brothers retreated to the sidewalk after ringing the doorbell on September 30th without further threatening actions, whether Mr. Lei pushed Saab first, Joseph waving his fists in the air twice during the standoff to provoke gestures, the weight of the metal snow shovel Mr. Lei held, and whether his injuries truly prevented him from working for five to six months.
Mr. Lei refuted these claims, stating that he was older and physically no match for Saab, who weighed 200 pounds. He reiterated that everything he did was to protect his family, which included elderly, young children, his wife, siblings, and nieces and nephews. Joseph also mentioned that Saab made threats at the time and aggressively struck the iron fence in the front yard with the baseball bat, displaying a menacing behavior.
Saab faces multiple charges, including “attempted assault with a weapon” and “endangering the welfare of a child.” If convicted, he could face up to 7 years in prison.
Currently, three victims have testified, with two police officers and students present at the basketball court scheduled to appear in court today and two weeks later, respectively. The judge will then issue a ruling.