NYC man charged in the brutal sucker punch attack outside a Bronx restaurant. Chris Jose reports.
A 52-year-old restaurant patron was brutally beaten by another diner who followed him outside the eatery, put on a pair of gloves and punched him in the face in a wordless attack before walking back inside, authorities say.
The NYPD said Wednesday a 55-year-old Bronx man, Van Phu Bui, had been charged with attempted murder in the case. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Jarring footage of the Friday attack in front of Fuego Tipico Restaurant on 188th Street in Fordham Heights around 10:45 p.m. shows the victim on the street. A man is seen calmly walking up behind him, arms folded low behind his back. He stands behind the victim, then slugs him violently with his right arm, the right hook to the head immediately rendering him unconscious on the ground.
Then he stands over the motionless victim, looking down on him for a moment, before walking away. Police said there was no prior conversation or argument before the attack.
Cops say it appears the victim, identified by his brother as Jesus Cortez, had left the restaurant and stopped just outside of it when he saw several people talking. That's when the attacker came from behind him, donned the gloves and socked him in the head. The victim suffered a skull fracture, broken cheekbone and brain bleeding in the attack. He was said to be hospitalized in critical condition.
Cortez's brother, Juan, told NBC New York that his brother is "day to day. We simply ask God to help him, for the justice system to be hard-handed" against the attacker.
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"My brother is in this condition because of these criminals walking the street. I don’t wish this upon anyone," Juan Cortez said. "The only thing I want justice is for my brother. Apparently this person has a criminal record."
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The suspect was said to be a previous sex offender, and was part of a gang rape in 1994. He was released from state prison in 2015.
