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Read the press release here.

Teen Assaults Safety Officer at Harlem High School

By Gustavo Solis | January 29, 2015 12:58pm
 A school safety officer was assaulted at the high school while trying to break up a fight, school officials said.
A school safety officer was assaulted at the high school while trying to break up a fight, school officials said.
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DNAinfo/Gustavo Solis

EAST HARLEM — A school safety officer was hospitalized after a high school student punched her in the face at Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce.

The 16-year-old cracked the officer in the face about 3 p.m. on Jan. 20 as she tried to break up a fight between two students, police and school officials said.

As the officer pulled one of the students away from the fight, the suspect struck her on the left side of her face, according to the criminal complaint. It was not clear if the suspect was one of the students involved in the fight.

The school’s principal was not immediately available to answer questions about the assault.

The safety officer was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital, sources said. She has since returned to work, a DOE spokesman said.

The boy was arrested at the school and charged with one felony count of assault, the NYPD said.

He has been released without bail, court records show and is due back in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 6.

Other recent crimes in the 25th Precinct:

► Police arrested a man who robbed the Old Navy, Target, and Burlington Coat Factory at East River Plaza, threatening security guards at each store with a knife when they confronted him.

Alexis Maltes started his crime spree on New Year's Eve when he took two pairs of boxers from a rack at Old Navy and a coat from the Burlington Coat Factory, according to the NYPD.

When Old Navy's security tried to stop him, Maltes, 33, pulled out a knife from his boot and said, "I'm not afraid of you," according to the criminal complaint.

A few weeks later, on Jan. 20, Maltes returned to the shopping mall.

He walked into Target, grabbed a cellphone and put it in his jacket. A security guard noticed that Maltes was holding a knife and backed off. Maltes began to leave, walked back to the guard and said, “I’m going to cut you, I’m going to kill you,” before walking away, according to the complaint.

Officers arrested Maltes after he returned to the Burlington Coat Factory Jan. 25 about 2 p.m. This time Maltes tried to take two coats, according to the complaint.

A manager at Burlington Coat Factory declined to comment, referring all questions to its corporate office. The corporate office could not be reached for comment.

Employees at Target and Old Navy also referred questions to their corporate offices. Neither corporate office replied when reached by email.

Maltes’ Legal Aid lawyer declined to comment. He has been charged with three felony counts of robbery and is being held at Rikers Island on $20,000 bail.

► A woman forced her way into her mother’s house, beat her up and stole a teen’s cellphone, police said.

As soon as the 57-year-old victim opened the door, Lainie Mangome, 33, shoved her way inside the 2283 Second Ave. apartment on Jan. 17. Mangome punched her mother in the arm and chest and then took a 16-year-old’s cellphone, police said.

She was arrested Jan. 20, records show.

She was charged with assault and petty theft. Her next court date is on Feb. 17, records show.

Mangome’s Legal Aid lawyer could not be reached for comment