NYPD seeks teen girl who sucker punched Brooklyn woman when asked to 'mask up'
BROOKLYN, NYC: The New York Police Department has asked for the public's help in identifying a teen suspect after she brutally punched a 39-year-old Brooklyn woman when she asked her to "mask up." The incident took place on October 28 near Fulton Street in the Ocean Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn in New York City at around 11 am.
According to the authorities, a 39-year-old unidentified woman reportedly told the teenage girl to put on a mask, which led to a verbal dispute that ended with the teen violently punching the woman. Police described the suspect as between 14 and 16 years old, with a thin build and black hair, and dark complexion. She was wearing a purple and white sweatshirt, white sneakers and a backpack and appeared to have attacked the woman as she was walking away. Photos of the suspect were released on Friday.
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The victim, dressed in a purple sweater and black skirt, was punched so hard on the side of the face that she stumbled a few steps before doubling over in pain. She then gripped her face with both hands. The assaulter seemed to be much younger than the victim, suggesting that they shared a considerable age gap. The teenage girl walked calmly away after assaulting the woman.
The extent of the injuries sustained by the woman is not known as it was reported by the police that the victim refused any medical attention at the scene. Police are now calling on the public's help to identify the girl, as crimes surge in New York City. Felony assaults are up 8.4 percent in the city while crimes such as rape and robbery are also up, with overall crime up 1.9 percent compared to last year.
Mask-related violence on the rise
This is not the only instance of violence over mask-related protocols. We reported last month about a viral video where an aggressive anti-masker at a restaurant was seen getting punched in the face by another customer after he shoved a third man during a furious tirade. In the beginning, the video shows the man yelling at a restaurant staffer, accusing her of "discriminating" against him by asking him to wear a mask. "We're going to f**k your restaurant up!" he shouted. The staff member simply says, "it's a mandate!" When another customer tried to inervene, the anti-masker shoved him, saying, "Don't get in my face!" While others got up in support of the customer who was shoved, one man approached the anti-masker and knocked him to the floor with a punch to his face.
In another incident, a security guard at a Vons supermarket in Santa Monica, California, stabbed a customer late on Monday night, November 8, after the customer became violent upon being urged to wear a mask. In a press release, the Santa Monica Police Department on Tuesday, November 9, said that the customer entered the Vons store at around 10.35 pm without wearing a mask, and started 'causing a scene'. According to witnesses, the man became 'belligerent' and began assaulting a staff member when the store employees approached him and asked him to wear a mask. When a security guard tried to escort him out of the building, a fight broke out between the two.