Man punches elderly woman in head as she walks and then plays the victim in shocking random attack in Brooklyn
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A man allegedly punched an elderly woman in an unprovoked attack on a Brooklyn sidewalk. The incident happened in broad daylight on a street in Brooklyn, New York, on June 10. According to reports, the incident was also caught on a CCTV camera that showed the man casually walking down the street before swinging his fist and hitting the 78-year-old in the head. After the attack, the old woman was seen crying out loud in the footage as she held her head. While the man – described as a male, dark complexion, approximately five-foot-nine, medium build with short dark hair – "appeared to accuse the woman of provoking the attack."
Though the footage has no sound, the man’s gestures suggested that he was acting himself as the victim. He was seen raising his palms up and appeared to ask the woman why she had hurt him. Reports also claimed that the victim, whose name has not been revealed suffered substantial pain, but refused further medical attention. The man reportedly ran away from the scene after the attack. He was last seen in a black long sleeve shirt, green pants and black shoes.
New York Police Department has urged the public to help catch the suspect as they have tweeted a picture of him taken from the video of the attack. “WANTED for ASSAULT: Know this guy? On 6/10 at 5:15 pm, in front of 835 Broadway in Brooklyn, a 78-year-old female was walking when he approached her & punched her in the head with a closed fist, then fled. Have info? call/DM @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. Help us catch him,” the tweet read.
In a similar incident, another attack took place in New York in which a man allegedly shoved a pensioner in the head as he walked past her on the pavement. The victim then reportedly hit her head on a fire hydrant earlier this month in Manhattan. The alleged attack captured on video showed the pair who were about to cross paths on 3rd Avenue between 15th and 16th Street in Manhattan when the suspect extended his arm to hit the woman.
In the video, the man was seen wearing a purple or blue T-shirt and patterned shorts. While the elderly woman was in a pink sweater holding a shopping cart that toppled over her after the assault. Following the attack, the accused was arrested and has been identified as Rashid Brimmage, who has 103 prior arrests. He has been charged with assault. After the 31-year-old’s arrest, the New York Police Department tweeted saying the assault suspect “pushed a 92-year-old female to the ground causing her to strike her head on a fire hydrant”.
It has been reported that after the attack, Brimmage turned around and looked the woman in the face as he continued walking off. The pensioner later identified as a Bronx native named Geraldine suffered some injuries. Following the attack, she was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, where she was expected to recover. Geraldine later told ABC, “I'm frightened to tears. I'm not going to walk there on my own, and it's very upsetting. It's very upsetting. I thought it was a brick or something like that. Hit me on the right scalp, on the right side of my head, and of course, I fell down on the street. There were a couple of young women there. They helped me up.” “I've felt very safe in the city, and now, forget it. I'm afraid to go out,” she added.