Bronx Man Arrested In Unprovoked Attack That Left Elderly Man Deaf In One Ear
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An elderly man is recovering after police say he was brutally beaten with a cane by another man in Upper Manhattan Friday afternoon.
The unprovoked attack occurred just before 6 p.m. in front of 4863 Broadway in Inwood, police said.
By Saturday night, police said 19-year-old Saul Nunez, of the Bronx, had been arrested in connection with the incident. He was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
The victim, Juan Llorens, welcomed CBS2's Ali Bauman into his home down the block after he returned from the hospital, but the attack left him deaf in one ear.
In broken English he reenacted what he called a completely unprovoked attack.
Bauman: "You've never seen him before?"
Llorens: "No, never. I don't recall, I don't know him."
The sidewalk was bustling with commuters when the suspect was caught on surveillance video near west 204th Street carrying a cane.
WATCH: Surveillance Video Released By The New York Police Department
The suspect appeared to turned off camera when he apparently spotted the 90-year-old victim pushing a shopping a cart. He then proceeded to kick elderly man's cart before beating him over the head with his cane, police said.
A good Samaritan stepped in to thwart the attack, prompting the suspect to flee westbound on Broadway.
Almost everyone in the neighborhood knows Llorens as a beloved bottle collector, so it's no surprise several bystanders rushed to help when he was hit.
"Everyone knows him as like the grandfather," witness Gemma Oberholtzer said. "If something happens, I'm not going to let this guy get attacked."
"I know this guy decades. He's like a fixture up and down the street," John Higgins added.
"It's sad, sad to see," Frank Alvarez said.
Residents are aghast that someone would want to attack their defenseless neighbor.
"He's always to himself, never harmed anyone," Bruce Cruz said.
"It's terrible, uncalled for," Cruz said. "The guy should be brought to justice."
Llorens said he's grateful for their kindness and has faith his attacker will be caught.
"Good people get bad people," he said.
Llorens also told Bauman he's been collecting bottles and cans on the block for three decades.