Coney Island Girl Recalls Fighting Off Mugger In Broad Daylight Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New video of a 12-year-old girl -- moments before she was forced into an alley and mugged -- shows the suspect following close behind.
The attack happened on Monday.
Apartment building surveillance shows the girl walking home from school on Monday afternoon on Stillwell Ave.
Right behind her is a backpack toting suspect -- who police say the victim didn't know.
The girl was followed to the spot midway between Neptune and Mermaid Ave.
Police said she was grabbed by the neck, pushed into a dark alley, and punched in the face -- all for a plastic bag with cupcakes inside, and $3.
"It's the middle of the day. Who's going to do something like that? It's not right," Ailyn Gonzalez said.
On Friday, Keiri Quintero spoke out about the attack that has fearing for her safety.
"I always go buy stuff," she told CBS2's Brian Conybeare.
Quintero was picking up cilantro for her mother, and a cupcake for herself at the grocery store, when the teen started following her.
"He tells me, 'are you cold' I didn't answer. In the middle of the street he says 'seriously are you cold' and I just kept walking straight," she recalled.
Quintero stopped at a McDonald's hoping the guy would leave her alone, but he didn't and the scary encounter turned violent.
"He comes from the back and gets my by the neck," she said, "He put me inside the hallway, and he throws me on the floor, and then he told me give everything you got, and I gave him everything."
Quintero said he took the groceries and some money, but it was when he started taking off his jackets that she became terrified about what might happen next -- she kicked him as hard as she could in the groin.
"After I kicked him he punched me and I gave him the $3 to leave me, so then I screamed," she said.
The 7th grader who was brave enough to fight off her attacker hopes police find him soon.
"I want him to go to jail because I don't want him doing that to more people," she said.
Police found additional video of the suspect at a deli less than a block away. It gave them and the public, a better look at his face.
Investigators estimate the suspect is about 15-years-old. He was wearing black and white sneakers, all black clothing, and carried a black and red backpack with white stripes.
Some neighbors who live in the building said they heard voices and that the attack lasted only a minute.
"She was screaming no, no," Maria Del Aguilar said.
Del Aguilar said she went out to investigate, but not quickly enough. The victim and the suspect were gone. Now, her own 12-year-old daughter Jacqueline Romero is being extra cautious.
"I can't go outside no more. I don't want to go outside alone, I only want to go outside with my parents or older brother," she said.
Other parents and kids in the neighborhood were nervous, including Melba Pineda and daughter Caroline.
"That's why I told my daughters to always walk with a friend or somebody," Pineda said.
Police said the victim's face is severely bruised -- that will heal, but a full recovery means getting over the emotional trauma of being attacked by a stranger steps from home and in the light of day.
