Man accused of attacking tenant he didn't recognize

FLUSHING, Queens (WABC) -- Two residents of the same building in Queens tussled on camera apparently because one didn't recognize the other.

The other man claims he was trying to protect the building from someone he didn't recognize.

Imagine trying to walk into a building that you've lived in for three and a half years and having one of your neighbors tackle you in the lobby and try to kick you out for trespassing.

That's what happened to one man who lives inside the Flushing building, and it was all caught on tape.

"I never hit him. I never touched him. I'm a Buddhist. I don't believe in violence," said John Derounian, victim.

You can see John Derounian in the video allegedly getting tossed around by his neighbor, Yong Hung Wang, who lives just four floors above him.

Derounian says Wang thought he was trespassing, attacked him, and even called 911 to have him arrested.

"He has me in a corner, and he's picking me up by the throat, lifting me up, saying I don't know you," Derounian said.

According to Derounian, responding officers initially didn't arrest Wang, but a lieutenant with internal affairs watched the security video and booked the vigilante resident, who Derounian claims was carrying a courtesy badge.

"I really feel if he had a weapon or gun or a knife, it would have been more serious," Derounian said.

"He just wants to protect everyone because he doesn't know that guy," Wang's wife said.

Wang wasn't home when Eyewitness News knocked on his door, but his wife, accompanied by the couple's two children, agreed to talk.

She claims her husband was only trying to keep out intruders and protect the building's residents.

"That guy have no key, no ID. My husband asked him if he had ID," Wang's wife said.

Derounian claims he suffered a minor concussion from the attack.

He says he hopes this incident will show that people cannot take the law into their own hands.

"This vigilante justice has to stop. This is why that kid down in Florida got killed," Derounian said.

Wang was arrested and charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and second degree harassment.

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new york city, assault, flushing, queens, new york news

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