Police: Bicycle-Riding Suspect Randomly Smashes Woman In Face With Hard Object
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are investigating a random, unprovoked attack against a woman in Queens.
It happened around 11:20 a.m. Saturday on 68th Street between Roosevelt and 41st avenues in Woodside.
Police said a man on a bicycle approached the 61-year-old victim and hit her in the face with some sort of hard object.
"It's so scary, so scary," Bernalyn Cervas, who lives across the street, told CBS2's Kiran Dhillon. "I've been here for a year, and that [has] never happened. Sometimes I get home like 11 at night, after work. That never happened, I never saw anything like that."
"I'm shocked. The neighborhood is so quiet, I didn't expect it to happen here," neighbor Adrian Clemente added. "I tell my kids to be aware of the strangers."
"Actually, I'm afraid walking during nighttime," said another neighbor.
The woman was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital with a gash to her mouth.
Police said the suspect took off heading south of 68th Street.
Surveillance video shows the man riding his bike on a sidewalk after the attack. He's described as 20 to 30 years old and was last seen wearing a dark jacket and gray pants.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting 274637.