Man slapped in face on Manhattan subway during confrontation with weeds: sources

Law enforcement sources said a man on a Manhattan subway was brutally beaten by a group of teenagers overnight after reportedly asking them to stop smoking on the train.

Sources told News 4 that the 37-year-old striphanger was riding southbound train No. 1 shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday when he noticed a group of high school students smoking weed.

An attempt to get teenagers to quit smoking on the train was met with violence. According to preliminary data, the man was punched several times in the face.

Officials said the man was being treated for his injuries at Bellevue Hospital.

The teenagers tried to escape at the 18th Street station, but were detained after a police check. Three out of four teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 were caught; the fourth is still in the wind.