Thomas Shea

Stranger Breaks 71-Year-Old Woman's Jaw in Random NYC Street Attack

The victim was sent to the ground and suffered a broken jaw and cuts to her mouth; the suspect kept walking seemingly very calm

What to Know

  • Police are looking for a man seen on video walking up to a woman in Brooklyn and bashing her in the face
  • The 71-year-old woman was walking in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens when the suspect, who was walking in the other direction, punches her
  • The victim was sent to the ground and suffered a broken jaw and cuts to her mouth; the suspect kept walking seemingly very calm

Police are looking for a man seen on video walking up to a woman in Brooklyn and bashing her in the face.

The 71-year-old woman was walking along New York Avenue in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 19 when the suspect is seen on video walking in the opposite direction on the sidewalk. Seemingly out of nowhere, he turns to her and punches the woman in the face, police said.

The brazen daytime attack transpired just a few blocks away from an NYPD stationhouse. Police say the man has been seen around the neighborhood prior to the incident and that he may be mentally disturbed.

The victim was knocked to the ground and left unconscious, cops said, as the man kept on walking calmly away. The woman was hospitalized in serious but stable condition with a broken jaw and cuts to her mouth that required stitches.

The woman eventually got up and walked into a store, and did not appear to even remember she had been hit or where she was, just telling the shop owner she had fallen somewhere nearby.

She was still wearing facial bandages when she spoke to News 4 Tuesday. Through those, she said her injuries still make it difficult for her to talk -- and she hopes that cops will catch the man who did this to her. 

No arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.

Police are looking for the man seen in the video wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Anyone with information regarding the suspect or the attack are encouraged to contact police at the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or online at nypdcrimestoppers.com

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