Tuckahoe Teen One of Two Arrested in Black Friday Assaults at the Palisades Mall

Written by Lanning Taliaferro (Patch Staff)

Clarkstown police have arrested two teens in connection with the Nov. 28 assaults at the Palisades Center.

Chris Bujaj, 17, of Tuckahoe, NY and Ardijan Mehaj, 17, of Yonkers, were each charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime, a felony, and third degree assault, a misdemeanor.

Police said the hate crime charge stems from ethnic slurs made to one of the victims during one of the assaults.

Bujaj and Mehaj were arraigned in Clarkstown town court; bail was set at $25,000 each. They were transported to the Rockland County Jail and are due back in court Dec. 19.

Police are still seeking help from the public in identifying a third suspect, pictured here.

He is described as a male white, 5’6”-5’8”, black vest, grey hoodie and dark jeans. To help, call the Clarkstown Detective Bureau at (845) 639-5840 or the Clarkstown TIPS line at 1-877-639-6233.

Photo: Chris Bujaj