2 Boys Charged in Manhattan Assault on Former Gov. David Paterson

Two boys have been arrested and charged in a street attack on David A. Paterson, a former governor of New York, and his stepson, the police said.

One boy, who is 12, was charged with second-degree gang assault, and the other, a 13-year-old, was charged with third-degree gang assault, the police said on Saturday night. Both boys, accompanied by their parents, turned themselves in to the police, according to Sean Darcy, a spokesman for Mr. Paterson.

A third person, also a minor, went to the police but was not charged in the Friday night attack in Manhattan, according to an internal police report.

Mr. Paterson, 70, said at a news conference on Saturday that he was punched in the shoulder and several times in the face, while his stepson Anthony Sliwa, 20, was knocked to the ground and needed stitches to his lower lip.

They were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital for treatment and were sent home early Saturday morning, Mr. Darcy said.

“We hope that the young people involved learn something from this unfortunate encounter,” Mr. Darcy added. “The governor is grateful to see the kids’ parents hold them to account.”

Two other people, both adults, were involved in the attack, according to the police. They fled on foot and have not been caught, the police said.

The former governor was not believed to have been targeted in the assault, a spokesman for the Police Department said on Saturday. Mr. Paterson is legally blind, but there was no indication that the attackers were aware of this.

The assault stemmed from a verbal argument between some of the attackers and Mr. Sliwa, the son of Curtis Sliwa, a former Republican mayoral candidate and the founder of the Guardian Angels, an anti-crime group.

Mr. Sliwa was walking the family dog around 7:45 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side when he saw some of the attackers climbing a building’s fire escape, Mr. Paterson said.

Mr. Sliwa “yelled at them to come down or he was going to call the cops,” Mr. Paterson said.

“They came down, and he got into it with one of them, and that was kind of the end of it,” he added.

But after Mr. Sliwa brought the dog home, he walked back outside with Mr. Paterson and encountered the group again. An argument began, and moments later, two adults became involved and instigated the assault, Mr. Paterson said.

“Interestingly enough, two adults intervened and actually started the fight,” he said. “The kids didn’t start the fight. They were arguing.”

Mr. Paterson said he was able to fend off the attacker who punched him. Then, he said, he turned around and saw Mr. Sliwa bent over with his knee on the ground.

Mr. Paterson said he and a neighbor took Mr. Sliwa home and called 911.

It was unclear whether the adults knew the boys who were arrested, or whether Mr. Sliwa knew any of the attackers before Saturday night.

Mr. Paterson, a Democrat and former lieutenant governor of New York, served as governor from 2008 to 2010. He took over after it emerged that his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, was a client of a high-end prostitution ring, and Mr. Spitzer resigned.

Mr. Paterson was the first Black person to hold the office.

His wife, Mary Paterson, was formerly married to Curtis Sliwa.

On Saturday afternoon, Curtis Sliwa expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of support” following the assault.

“As a father, I’m wholeheartedly proud of my son for protecting himself and Governor Paterson during this violent attack,” Mr. Sliwa wrote on social media.

Isabella Kwai, Hurubie Meko and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.