‘Spider-Man’ kid gets his nose broken by vicious bullies: video

Shocking footage captures the moment a 15-year-old New York boy dressed as Spider-Man was set upon by brutal bullies, who broke his nose.

Video posted online shows Aydin Pedone, a middle schooler from Hudson Falls, surrounded by a group of teens who hurl taunts and film him, after he had allegedly been lured to a local park.

A girl then approaches and tries to swat him across the face. Pedone deftly dodges the first blow, but as he regathers himself the girl pulls back again and cracks him hard across the nose before walking away laughing.

He was knocked back against a fence, and then wrestled off his mask to show blood pouring down his face from his mangled nose as the kids jeer on.

Aydin was left requiring a procedure to heal his nose, and several days later the girl was arrested and charged with one felony count of assault in the second degree, according to the Hudson Falls Police Department. Her guardian was issued a juvenile appearance ticket and ordered to appear at the Washington County Probation Department.


Aydin Pedone, 15, was left with a bloodied and broken nose after a gang of his classmates lured him to a park
Aydin Pedone, 15, was left with a bloodied and broken nose after a gang of his classmates lured him to a park.

Aydin was allegedly lured to the park by the teenagers, who cornered and harassed him verbally
Aydin was allegedly lured to the park by the teenagers, who cornered and harassed him verbally

As the video began to circulate on social media, the incident struck a chord with the local community who know Pedone as a gentle and loving kid who they say has been so harassed by classmates he took to wearing his Spiderman outfit to advocate against bullying in schools.

Since the attack a GoFundMe page has raised over $10,000 to fund Pedone’s martial arts training, a superhero-themed cookout has been organized to symbolically take back the park where he was assaulted, and cosplayers across the country have turned out in droves to record videos of support and encouragement under the hashtag #aydinsheroes.

“My son was attacked for the purpose of bored teenage entertainment, targeted for being different than them, and viciously attacked because of having the courage to stand out from the crowd and be himself,” Pedone’s mother, Shellie Pedone, wrote on Facebook after the incident.

“He has that kind of heart that only sees the good in people. Is this the kind of kid that deserves to have his nose broken, unprovoked, and witnessed by nearly a dozen peers standing around to watch, record and laugh at him?”

“Parents start paying attention to what your children are doing, who is influencing them while they grow, and how they treat others, especially before they get to middle school.”


At one point a 14-year-old girl approached Aydin and socked him hard in the face without provocation
At one point a 14-year-old girl approached Aydin and socked him hard in the face without provocation.

Shellie went on to tell how her son was always a happy and confident boy, but when he got to the sixth grade his classmates began harassing him over his interests.

“He still liked Spider-Man, but that wasn’t ok. So the abuse began, starting small with words, pokes and shoves, snuck up on and kicked, and just kept growing,” she wrote.

“This brave kid somehow chose to not give in to them telling him what he should and shouldn’t like, instead of blending in he took it a different route.


Aydin pulled his mask off his face to reveal his bloodied nose, and the bullies continued to laugh and film
Aydin pulled his mask off his face to reveal his bloodied nose, and the bullies continued to laugh and film.

“He thought if he increased freely expressing his true self he could save the school and stop the bullying, even if it meant the bullies focused on him, he thought that was at least taking their focus off someone else and he was still helping someone.”

Shellie admiringly wrote how impressed she was that Aydin didn’t retaliate, but instead chose to walk away.

“Maybe these kids need to stop thinking less of him, seems to me they might actually need to learn a few things from him. Learn a little empathy and understanding, it’s your type of behavior making this world so ugly,” she wrote.