Woman in Wheelchair Slashed in Random Attack: NYPD

What to Know

A woman in a wheelchair was slashed across her face early Sunday morning in East Harlem.
Police said the attack appears to be random.
The woman was taken to a hospital for stitches but is otherwise expected to be OK. The suspect is still on the loose.

A woman who uses a wheelchair needed 50 stiches after she was slashed in the face by a stranger in what appears to be a random attack in New York City, police say.

The 42-year-old woman was outside of a business on East 125th Street in East Harlem early Sunday when the man approached her, authorities said.

The man slashed the woman across her face with an unknown object shortly after 3 a.m. and then took off, according to police.

The woman was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where she received 50 stitches to close the gash across her face.

Police said the victim and her attacker didn’t know each other and that they had no altercation prior to the slashing. They said it appears to be a random attack.

The suspect is believed to be in his late teens or early 20s.