New York City police report they’ve arrested the man they say was caught on film randomly and violently assaulting a 71-year-old woman on a sidewalk Tuesday.
In the brief but highly disturbing clip caught on a nearby building’s security camera, a dark-skinned man can be seen punching the woman as she walked by him on a sidewalk for no discernible reason, knocking her out cold and fleeing the scene as she lay flat on the ground. Detectives with the NYPD’s 71st Precinct tweeted out the video asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, later adding that the victim was a 71-year-old woman.
Please help us identify the male in the video below. Any with information please contact the 71 Detectives 718-735-0501 pic.twitter.com/wi7cldhJfp
— NYPD 71st Precinct (@NYPD71Pct) October 1, 2019
Hours after posting the video, police updated that they’d arrested a 27-year-old man who was already on probation in connection with the crime, but didn’t publicly identify a motive.
#NYPD 71 Detectives have a suspect in custody related to the violent and unprovoked Assault of a 71 year old Senior Citizen victim. Additional info to follow.
— NYPD 71st Precinct (@NYPD71Pct) October 1, 2019
71 Detectives have arrested and charged a 27 year old male on @nycprobation for the violent assault of a 71 year old Senior Citizen victim. #NYPDProtecting #ProspectLefferts
— NYPD 71st Precinct (@NYPD71Pct) October 2, 2019