Benjamin Carroll

‘I Thought He Was Going to Kill Me': Woman, 73, Pummeled by Stranger on Subway

No arrests have been made

What to Know

  • A 73-year-old was punched repeatedly in her head and body by a man on the L train in Brooklyn last month, police say
  • The unprovoked attack happened Feb. 8 at the Livonia Avenue station in Brownsville, the NYPD says
  • No arrests have been made; witnesses are urged to Call Crime Stoppers with tips

Police are looking for a man who randomly landed violent blows on a senior woman while riding the subway in Brooklyn, officials say.

The 73-year-old woman was on the L train on Feb. 8 at around 8 p.m. when the attacker suddenly got up from his seat and began punching her several times in her head and body, according to the NYPD.

The victim recounted the brutal attack Friday, saying she'd been reading when she happened to look up and saw a man towering over her.  

"He was punching me. He knocked my hat off, he knocked my glasses one way, my bag went one way and my pocketbook went one way," she said. 

"I thought he was going to kill me," the victim said. "I was scared. I thought, really, one punch would have knocked me out or killed me or something." 

The man, last seen wearing a green jacket and yellow sneakers, got off the train at the Livonia Avenue station in Brownsville and ran off. Surveillance images (above) captured him walking out of the station through the turnstiles.

The victim said she hasn't taken the train since the attack, choosing instead to ride the bus to and from work, even though it adds 30 minutes each way. 

"When I close my eyes, sometimes at night, I can see this big man standing over me," she said. 

No arrests have been made. Witnesses are urged to Call Crime Stoppers with tips.

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