A shocking sucker-punch attack in midtown Manhattan left a 74-year-old woman knocked to the ground — and now she's afraid to walk around her own neighborhood.
The unprovoked, broad-daylight assault occurred around 11 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of East 52nd Street and Madison Avenue, police and the victim said. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was with her partner walking to Grand Central when she was suddenly hit.
"Out of nowhere, I just got punched and all I know, I was just on the ground," the victim told NBC New York. "I think if I was not with him, she would have done me more harm."
The woman has lived in New York City for 35 years, and said she has never seen her attacker before. She wondered if she was targeted due to her age.
"My partner and I are both seniors, we appear helpless, although we are still OK. I just want them to do something about this," she said. "It still could be part of this ongoing thing with the Asian hate going on. I'm not sure."
The NYPD Hate Crimes task force is monitoring the investigation.
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The victim is now recovering from the right hook to her face. She said she also suffered some bruising to her knee, and was taken to NYU Langone Hospital for treatment afterward.
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Police are searching for the suspect, who walked away casually at first, the victim said, but then took off running when the victim's partner started chasing her . The woman said that she just hopes there's an arrest before someone else gets hurt.
"I watch the news every single day that these unprovoked attacks are going on, but never in my mind would I be a victim one day — particularly in the area we were because it's Madison Avenue, midtown Manhattan, which I thought was a safe area," she said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
