A 16-year-old Chinese exchange student was slashed in the face with a box cutter by a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves Wednesday as she walked to school in Queens, New York, authorities say.
The suspect sneaked up behind the victim as she walked east on 13th Avenue near 147th Street around 8:20 a.m. and slashed her twice in the face; one laceration ran from her ear to her throat, authorities said.
Surveillance video shows the suspect jogging behind the victim as she walks on the sidewalk. Both the suspect and victim move out of the frame for a moment, and then the video shows the suspect fleeing in the other direction.
The victim, a student at the Whitestone Academy school, has been in the United States for eight months, police said. Her brother and sister were by her side Wednesday at the hospital, where she was treated for nonlife-threatening wounds, according to police.
Authorities said the attacker, who had a hood up, came out of nowhere. He and the victim did not appear to know each other, authorities said.
Neighbors who knew the victim described her as quiet and unassuming.
"It's sickening," said Karen Smith of Whitestone. "It's really sad and I feel bad for her, and something needs to be done."
