Suspect Charged With Attacking, Beating Man, 85, In Upper East Side Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A suspect was arrested and charged Sunday with attacking and beating an 85-year-old man in an Upper East Side park.

Edwin Suazo, 35, was charged with second-degree assault in the attack last week.

The suspect was apprehended at 96th Street and York Avenue, by an officer and a detective who were assigned to mayor's security detail. He was apprehended after the officers recognized him from surveillance video.

Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a tweet praising the officers' efforts.

Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, the suspect came up to the man in Carl Schurz Park, at Park Avenue and 90th Street, and punched him in the side of the head, police said.

The man fell to the ground and suffered cuts to the back of his head and his right eye, police said.

The victim, who did not want to go on camera, told CBS2's Ali Bauman last week that he miraculously stayed conscious the whole time and managed to ask for help from a security guard at Gracie Mansion.

The guard called 911.

The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was reported to be stable. The assailant fled south on the promenade in the park, police said.

Many parkgoers were shocked by the attack.

"We're not expecting something like that to happen in this park, especially because it's mostly families and dogs," parkgoer Timothea Ratchford said last week.

The suspect did not steal anything from his victim, leaving many uneasy about the senseless violence.

"I mean if you're going to grob somebody that's still wrong but you can look at that and understand that. But you're getting sucker punched as you walking work or going go home and it's very disconcerting," said parkgoer Hadley Fisher said last week.

In:
• Upper East Side