Yesterday (March 12), the case of Middle-Eastern man Hassan Saab bullying Chinese-American middle school student Brian Lei entered the closing argument stage in New York. The defense and prosecution presented their positions, and ultimately the judge ruled that Saab was guilty of four charges, but acquitted him of the most serious charge of “attacking a child.”
The incident originated on the afternoon of September 28, 2023, at the 201 Middle School basketball court where a conflict arose. Two Middle-Eastern brothers got into a dispute with other children while attempting to join a game and in the chaos, the younger brother was injured and bleeding. Subsequently, the brothers called their uncle Saab and mother to rush to the vicinity of the court, where Saab physically assaulted 13-year-old Chinese-American student Brian and his classmate Jack, resulting in both being injured and needing medical attention. The school reported the incident, leading to police intervention and investigation.
On September 30, 2023, Saab and the Middle-Eastern brothers along with their mother visited Brian Lei’s home to provoke a confrontation, resulting in a violent clash in the front yard. Brian Lei’s father, Tingduo Lei, and Saab were both arrested and faced multiple charges. However, following strong protests from the Chinese-American community and prosecution investigation, Tingduo Lei’s charges were ultimately dropped.
During the closing arguments, Saab’s defense lawyer emphasized two points: when Saab attacked the two 13-year-old children on September 28, his motive was to “protect his nephew” and not to intentionally harm others. At the time, he was only 24 years old, acting impulsively, and did not anticipate the consequences.
On September 30, 2023, when Saab visited the Lei family again, he only swung a baseball bat once, accidentally hitting Tingduo Lei’s finger, without further aggressive behavior.
The prosecution, on the other hand, emphasized that Saab’s actions went beyond being “impulsive” and sought out violent conflict. After attacking the two 13-year-old children on September 28, Saab was not satisfied and two days later on September 30, he brought a baseball bat to the Lei family, assaulting Tingduo Lei and causing his little finger to fracture, rendering him unable to work for six months. The prosecution described Saab’s actions as equivalent to “taking food off Mr. Lei’s table,” causing him to lose his livelihood.
The prosecution repeatedly pointed out that Saab was the provocateur. On September 30, Saab intruded into the Lei family’s front yard, grabbed Tingduo Lei’s nephew Joseph’s shoulder, and wrapped his arm around his neck, resulting in injuries to his shoulder. Tingduo Lei was forced to defend his home by striking back with a snow scraper, which was deemed a defensive action. Videos showed Tingduo Lei holding a plastic snow scraper, which flew out of his hands amid the chaos.
The violence escalated thereafter. Surveillance footage showed Saab rushing towards Tingduo Lei with a baseball bat outside the car, causing Joseph to flee immediately, indicating the tense atmosphere at the time. Saab swung the bat with great force, leading to Tingduo Lei’s finger joint fracture and severe injuries, affecting his ability to work. While the defense claimed that Saab “only swung the bat once,” the prosecution emphasized that “once was enough to cause severe harm.”
Moreover, the prosecution stressed that the incident stemmed from a “silly school fight” at the school basketball court, but Saab decided to engage in a full-fledged confrontation with the children, which was deemed unacceptable. On September 30, he repeatedly called out “bring Brian out” at the Lei family, showing a vengeful mindset.
The prosecution stated that Saab’s actions posed a significant threat to minors, with victims Brian and Jack testifying that they felt “threatened and fearful” facing the physically imposing Saab. Joseph also sustained injuries during the conflict, experiencing symptoms of dizziness.
Following the closing arguments, the judge confirmed Saab’s decision to waive his right to testify in court and proceeded to make rulings on 25 charges. Four charges were found to be substantiated: two counts of “endangering the welfare of a child,” one count of “intentional weapon assault causing bodily harm,” and one count of “third-degree threat.”
As for the most serious charge of “attacking a child,” the judge ruled it did not meet the legal standard since Saab’s mindset at the time was to “protect his family” and not to intentionally harm others. The judge emphasized that the charge required concrete evidence of severe bodily harm to the child, needing sufficient medical evidence to indicate the type and extent of the injuries, rather than relying solely on video footage and testimonies of threats, hence acquitting Saab.
The judge stated that a formal sentence for Saab would be issued after six weeks following the release of the sentencing report. The prosecution indicated that around May 1, the victims’ families would submit “victim impact statements” to elucidate the impact of the incident on the victims and their families, for the judge to consider during sentencing.