Police search for man who attacked woman at Bedford Park bodega
Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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Police are searching for a man who allegedly punched a 66-year-old woman inside a deli at Bainbridge Avenue and East 198th Street in Bedford Park early Monday morning.
The attack happened just before 3 a.m., according to the NYPD. Surveillance cameras inside the store captured the suspect, who was last seen wearing glasses, a black hat, a leopard-print jacket and black pants. Police say he ran south on Bainbridge Avenue after the assault.
The store clerk who witnessed the attack and wanted to remain anonymous told News 12 the suspect came out of nowhere.
"I could feel the impact of the punch in my ears — that’s how hard he hit the lady," he said. "It’s terrible. Then, he dragged her out of the store like a rag doll, like a sack of potatoes.”
The clerk said he had never seen the man before.
"You know, a Mike Tyson punch? Boom. I felt so bad,” he said. “She was bleeding profusely from her nose and her mouth, but she’s strong — I’ve got to give it to her.”
He says after the suspect ran off, and he immediately called 911.
"Then she says, ‘Stay with me till they come,’ and I stayed with her until help came. It was real terrible,” the clerk recalled.
EMS took the woman to the hospital. She suffered bruising and bleeding but is expected to recover.
Neighbors say the violence has them on edge.
“Yeah, I’m getting ready to go in before dark, be home before dark — it’s very serious,” said Pamela Scott, a shopper in the area.
“I don’t know what’s going on in the Bronx,” added Angelis Ramirez, a longtime resident. “I’ve been here all my life — I’ll be 77 — and it’s like people have gone ballistic.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
