CBS2 Exclusive: Woman Speaks After Girl, 12, Allegedly Attacks Her With Bleach Bottle At Staten Island Mall
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 12-year-old girl is accused of attacking a woman at a popular mall, and police said the child admitted the random attack was for fun.
CBS2's Valerie Castro talked exclusively Monday to the woman who was attacked.
Police Monday night were still looking for the other people involved in the assault. The victim did not suffer any serious injuries, but could not understand why it happened in the first place.
"Oh it hurt," the woman said. "I didn't know what hit me."
The woman was attacked with an everyday household object, and the person allegedly behind it was a 12-year-old girl.
"She hit the side of my face with the bleach bottle, and my glasses, of course, went into the side of my nose," the woman said. "That's where it hurts most."
The victim, who did not want to be identified, said she left the JCPenney salon at the Staten Island Mall around noon Sunday when she noticed a group of six girls in the parking lot.
"I did see girls approaching me as I was standing there waiting for the traffic to pass, but I didn't think anything of them," she said.
She was blindsided as she walked to her car.
"First, I didn't know if they hit me or what hit me, but when I heard them laughing, that's when I knew somebody hit me -- and I seen them running away from me, and one of the girls had the container in her hand and dropped it," the woman said.
She yelled out that she was going to call the police, but the girls did not seem fazed by the threat.
"They were laughing, and one of them said to me, 'Oh, who are you going to call the police on, me?' I said, 'Yes, all of you,' and they ran away," the woman said.
The victim went to the hospital. Thankfully, she suffered no broken bones – but painful swelling. In even more good news, the bottle – which can weigh up to eight pounds – never broke open.
"I'm fortunate the bleach bottle didn't open, because then this would have been a completely different story," she said.
So far, one 12-year-old has been arrested. And alleged the motive for the random attack was shocking.
"It was just for fun!" the woman said. "That's what I think they got out of it, because why would you want to hit someone with a gallon of bleach?"
The 12-year-old who was arrested has been charged with assault. The victim is hoping her punishment includes some community service.
