Victim fears not getting sight back in right eye following brutal attack in Queens subway station
NEW YORK -- A man with a long arrest record has been arrested in connection with the brutal attack of a woman in a Queens subway station.
On Tuesday, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge spoke to the victim, who said it could have happened to anyone and she is warning subways riders to be careful.
"I'm scared. I would've never expected this to happen. My life has changed," Elizabeth Gomes said.
Distraught and still in pain a week after she was brutally beaten, 33-year-old Gomes said she worries she may never be able to see out of her right eye again.
"I really felt like it was gonna be my time, but some way or another I kept fighting to get up and I made it and I'm here," Gomes said.
At around 5 a.m. last Tuesday, Gomes was at the Howard Beach subway station heading to John F. Kennedy Airport, where she works as a security guard, when she says a random man started ranting.
"Stuff like he works for the devil," Gomes said.
She said she tried to ignore him as she walked up the stairs, but he followed. Surveillance video shows the man come up behind her, throw her against the station's booth, beat her repeatedly, and stomp on her head.
Another man is seen trying to interrupt the attack, but the suspect chases him away, and then keeps kicking the victim.
Gomes said she usually sees police at the station, but that morning there wasn't even anyone inside the station's booth.
"Very surprised. They're normally there. There is always some sort of protection at Howard Beach station," she said.
Waheed Foster, 41, who police say is homeless, was arrested a short time after and faces felony assault charges.
Sources told CBS2 he has a long rap sheet. In 1995, he was convicted of killing his grandmother in Brooklyn when he was 14. He was arrested at least eight more times once he got out, and served two more prison sentences, including one for a stabbing. He was paroled in 2021 and has two other open cases.
"This guy did so much stuff. How was he on the street?" Gomes' husband said, adding he doesn't want to let his wife or their five children out of his sight.
"I'm scared to even leave my house. I don't even want to take the train. You know, I love my job so much. Part of me doesn't want to go back," Gomes said.
Gomes testified in front of a grand jury on Tuesday. Foster's next court date is Oct. 6. She said she hopes this time he is locked up for good.
The Queens District Attorney's Office said it's "committed to taking swift and immediate action when a horrific act of violence occurs inside our subway system."