Tourist, 17, attacked by random man in front of parents in NYC before passersby rescue him
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Showing what New York City is really about, a group of good Samaritans stepped in to help, after a 17-year-old tourist was slugged down in a random NYC attack. Caleb Chittom, from Nashville, was taking a stroll with his parents near Central Park on Wednesday, October 5, when a stranger, who seemed like a homeless man "came out of nowhere" and punched him in the face before running away, never saying a word.
Both parents were "shocked" by the unprovoked attack, though, the couple thanked a group of samaritans who came in to assist them and even called 911 to report the incident. Thom Chittom, Caleb’s father told The Post he was in "disbelief that that would happen … That somebody would just do something like that." However, while the Chittom family was still trying to process the shock, New Yorkers came in to the rescue.
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“I looked up from where my son lay and the first person I laid eyes on was already on the phone calling 911, giving a detailed description of where we were,” Lynn-nore Chittom, the mother said. “People were helping in every way. Everyone who came up asked if they could help,” she added.
The family was heading towards Central Park as Celeb wanted to do some sketching, revealed his father. The family had gone on a trek from Tennessee to New York City in the past. “Caleb was near the corner of West 66th Street at around 12:30 p.m. when a brute came out of nowhere and just decked him,” said the dad.
“Honestly, kind of disbelief,” Thom Chittom, who does software testing back home told about the immediate aftermath. “Shock. You know, he kind of had fallen in the edge of the street.” He further added, “I think there was a little bit of panic that he might get hit by a vehicle or something that doesn’t realize he was there. All of those things kind of go through your mind.”
The victim's parents reported the attack to the NYPD. Although their spokesperson did not have any information to provide regarding the incident. The officials had arrived instantly and Caleb was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital. There he received treatment for bruises and a bloody nose, as reported by his father.
Last month, a tourist from Denmark was shot on the Upper West Side after he resisted the demands of an armed robber to hand over his wallet and cellphone.