What to Know
- A white woman was smashed in the face by a metal box-wielding stranger on a Tribeca street in an apparent bias attack, cops say
- The 57-year-old woman told police the attacker, who is black, made an anti-white statement before bashing her in the head
- The victim recounted the attack to News 4: "I felt like I was going to pass out... She was laughing that she hurt me"
The woman who was hit in the face with a metal box in an apparent bias attack is a civil rights attorney who's speaking for first time about the knockout.
The 57-year-old white victim, who wants to remain anonymous, was walking on Warren Street in Tribeca on May 31 when she says a black woman approached her and smashed her face face with a metal makeup box.
"It's the worst pain you ever felt in your face," she recounted to News 4 New York. "You just don't know what you look like. My eye was bloody, totally shut."
"I felt like I was going to pass out but I tried not to. And I went over to the first person I saw and said, 'Do I have teeth in my mouth?'" she said.
The victim said she noticed her attacker while walking back to work, and the suspect suddenly reached her arm back. The victim thought she was just dancing, but the attacker was winding up to hit her.
"The woman who hit me said, 'White b----,' and was laughing that she hurt me," she said.
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"The look on my face was like, 'Did you just hit me in the face?' I looked at her and didn't say a word," she said.
The woman still has bruises on her face, weeks after the attack. An attorney who works on behalf of children, families and immigrants, she has a message for her attacker.
"My dad was a Holocaust survivor. Many, many people were murdered over hate," she said. "It's a time for everyone to come together."
"I really hope you get the help you need, and that you never do this to anybody else."
The victim is also an avid ice skater and had a competition the day after the attack. Despite the pain, she went on to win a gold medal.
She said she feels lucky the impact wasn't worse but hopes the suspect is caught. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
