What to Know
- A Brooklyn woman had her teeth knocked out in a single punch by a stranger when she answered her door, she says
- She fought back, and that's when her 5-month-old pit bull escaped his cage and charged at her attacker
- The stranger ran off, and the woman believes her puppy Gotti saved her life
A 44-year-old woman who heard a knock on the door of her Brooklyn home opened it up to see a stranger who was covering his face with a shirt -- he socked her in the mouth, knocking out her teeth, law enforcement sources tell News 4.
The violent attack happened around 11 a.m. Friday in East New York, according to police, and the victim says it was her courageous puppy that saved her from even further injury.
"I was on the phone with the super, and as I was on the phone with him, I opened the door," the shaken victim told News 4 Friday. "The guy hit me in the face, broke my teeth and I was fighting with him."
The stranger, who had a shirt covering his mouth, "tried to close the door behind him, and I was fighting with him in the doorway, right by the bathroom door we were fighting," the woman said.
The woman, bloody and with her teeth knocked out, fought back, thinking of her son sleeping in a back bedroom. Then her dog started barking and broke out of his cage, rushing straight at the woman's attacker.
The stranger ran off. He took nothing with him and remains on the loose, along with an accomplice.
The woman believes her 5-month-old pit bull, Gotti, saved her life.
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"I don't know how but he got out of the cage. The guy saw the dog and started running," she said.
"If he didn't see the dog, I would probably be worse. Worse off," the woman said, getting emotional.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
