Family of Shopping Cart Victim Questions Mall Security

Louceny Camara, 52, suffered lacerations to his forehead and a puncture wound when the cart crashed onto him and his 30-year-old friend as they walked near an entrance of a Home Depot store at the Bronx's Gateway Center Mall Monday.

The wife of a man hit by a shopping cart that was pushed over the third-story railing of a mall parking garage is thankful he's alive, but she and her friends are questioning security on the premises.

Their questions come after a similar incident left a woman seriously injured in Manhattan last year.

Louceny Camara, 52, suffered lacerations and a puncture wound to his forehead when the cart crashed onto him and his 30-year-old friend as they walked near an entrance of a Home Depot store at the Bronx's Gateway Center Mall Monday evening.

Both men are cab drivers, and sources told NBC New York that investigators believe they were targeted after some kind of fight with other cab drivers who solicit passengers at the shopping center.

Camara's wife, Fadoumata Penda Bah, said her husband's injuries have prevented him from telling her much about the incident, but she is pleased his condition appears to be improving.

Police are searching for at least one suspect in connection with the attack, which was the second time someone has been injured in a shopping-cart toss in recent months.

Last October, a 47-year-old Manhattan woman was slammed in the head by a cart thrown from the fourth floor of an East Harlem shopping center.

Two 12-year-old boys pleaded guilty in the case, but have not yet been sentenced.

In light of that incident, Camara's family and friends are doubly frustrated.

"This is a safety issue,” said Djikiba Camara, a family friend. “Suppose [he] died right now, what's going to be? What will the mother do? What about her four kids? We in the community are very concerned.”

Mall management declined to say if or how security would be changed at the shopping center. They said they are cooperating with police and could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

Camara had initially been listed in critical condition when he was rushed to the hospital after the incident, but doctors upgraded his status to stable after the surgery.

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