Search On For Suspects In Brutal Attack On Bronx Street Corner
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man was recovering in the hospital Sunday night following a brutal attack on a street corner in the Bronx that was caught on camera.
Surveillance video from a deli on Lydig Avenue shows the 25-year-old victim finishing crossing the street, only to be spat on by a woman you see standing at the corner.
The man turns to his shoe and can be seen saying something. That's when the woman's two male companions respond with arms swinging, repeatedly punching the man.
The trio fled as Ismail Godinj was rushed to NYC Health + Hospitals / Jacobi with a broken jaw. His older brother, Markeljan, took a photo of him after surgery showing his face bruised and swollen.
"It is very terrible for us," Markeljan said, adding Ismail's jaw was broken on both sides of his mouth.
Friends arrived throughout the day Sunday, shocked by the sudden brutality they say was unprovoked.
"He's a good kid, young guy, doesn't bother anyone," Gramen Shoshi said.
Ismail has been unable to communicate what words were exchanged on the street corner around 10 a.m. Saturday, and it wasn't immediately clear if any witnesses came forward to say what was said.
"The man didn't deserve to get a broken jaw and to get bloodied up like that," Bronxdale resident Dan Breitman said.
Ismail's next step is getting his jaw wired for at least six weeks, during which he likely won't be able to work his job at a cleaning company. Meanwhile, his parents are in his native Albania attempting to come to the United States to be with their injured son.