CBS2 Exclusive: Street Performer Attacked, Beaten With Own Hula Hoop In Subway Station

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn street performer says he was beaten with his own hula hoop and punched in the face as he tried to stop an older couple from being harassed on the subway by a group of fellow dancers.

The performer, Jean Loup Wolfman, spoke exclusively to CBS2's Erin Logan.

Wolfman was hoping for peace and dancing Sunday afternoon as he was getting off a train at 14th Street-Union Square.

Instead, he said, "I was bleeding all over my face."

With a black eye and 10 staples to the head, Wolfman recounted the moment he was beaten up late Sunday afternoon. He said he tried to stop an older couple from being harassed by three fellow dancers on the train because the couple did not tip them.

"He starts screaming at the guy, like violently, 'I will slap that beanie off your head!'" Wolfman said. "And then he goes to the guy's yarmulke like this, and he slaps the yarmulke off the guy's head."

Wolfman said he asked the dancer to back off, and it set the dancer off. Once they got off the train and started walking, he told the man he too is a dancer and that he gave them a tip.

"And the guy kept coming running back at me, like, with a fist," Wolfman said.

Even after being pushed around and threatened, Wolfman said he tried to make light of the situation. He took out his hula hoop -- asking his fellow dancers if they wanted to have a dance challenge. That clearly did not work.

"He started hitting me with the hula hoop and stuff, and at that point, I just started screaming for police," Wolfman said.

And it didn't stop.

"The guy was hitting me. He took my guitar and he threw it down the stairs," Wolfman said.

Wolfman thought it was finally over at that point, but it was not.

"He ran down around the stairs, came up behind me and punched from behind me when I couldn't even see," Wolfman said.

With a police station located within the 14th Street-Union Square station, Wolfman said he was not letting the guy get away.

"We saw one of the guys, and I pointed out the guy -- and they started chasing him," Wolfman said.

Police said they arrested a 21-year-old Staten Island man. Wolfman is hoping they track down the other two, who were ready to hurt the older couple.

"Don't be afraid to get involved and stand up for your fellow New Yorkers," he said.

Wolfman said the attack is another example of how much hate and anger is out there today. He said he would do it all again in such a situation.