A woman tried running for safety on a New York City street Sunday, only to be punched to the ground by her attacker -- a man police are still trying to track down.

Video released by police shows the daylight attack in Chelsea when the 68-year-old Asian woman fled from the man chasing her through the intersection of 9th Avenue and West 19th Street.

Police said the unidentified suspect threw a punch to her torso that knocked the woman down. She suffered bruised ribs and back pain.

The department released video of the assault and additional surveillance images of the man in hopes of tracking down his whereabouts.

A motive behind the attack and what events pre-dated the 9 a.m. assault were not immediately known. The investigation is ongoing.