Mom of 10-Year-Old Brooklyn Boy Accused of Setting Fire to Local Store, Mugging an Elderly Woman Says Her Son Is a ‘Good Kid’

{snip}

A 10-year-old Brooklynite accused of mugging a 67-year-old grandma and torching a local business is “a one-kid crime wave . . . a very troubled young individual,” Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said of the alleged prepubescent pyromaniac said Thursday.

The pint-sized perp, who’s yet to hit 5 feet tall, arrived Thursday for a Family Court hearing with his mother–who attacked a photographer, swinging her purse at him, as they left for home.

“My son is awesome. He’s a good kid,” the mother snapped before heading off. “You paint him like he’s all bad. He’s not.”

Neighbors disagreed, describing the tiny terror Thursday as “the worst kid in New York City.”

“If the system really knew about him, they’d think he was a terrorist,” said Michael Palmer of Brooklyn. “I’m scared to do the things he does, and I’m 40 years old.”

The grade-schooler was affiliated with the Stone Crips, a Brooklyn gang, and apparently set the blaze as part of his initiation, according to a police source. The accused preadolescent punk was charged with setting fire to merchandise inside a Deals discount store on Clarkson Ave., in East Flatbush, on Tuesday.

One day earlier, the youngster and an 11-year-old sidekick were busted for bashing an elderly Brooklyn woman in her face during a brazen purse-snatching in broad daylight. The duo was accompanied by a 4-year-old, cops said.

The preteens, both weighing in at 90 pounds, scuffled with the arresting officers as they were taken into custody. The 10-year-old, who lives with his family in a privately run Brooklyn homeless shelter, is now charged with assault, attempted robbery and arson, cops said.

The boy’s aunt echoed other relatives in defending the pee-wee perp, who’s the oldest of three kids. “He’s a good kid, he’s good in school, he’s just hanging out with the wrong people that’s doing the wrong things,” said Keisha Graham, 36. “We don’t care what they say about him, we know what kind of kid he is,” added Graham. “He didn’t do it. He told me another kid did it.”

{snip}