Man Attacked With Metal Pipe On Way To Work In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man on his way to work was attacked with a metal pipe during a violent robbery earlier this month in Queens, police said Tuesday.
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported, surveillance video shows a man in a black hat holding what appears to be a metal pipe and threatening a 65-year-old man in a striped hoodie.
Police said the suspect demanded the victim's wallet. When the victim refused, the suspect allegedly hit him over the head with the pipe.
It happened on Nov. 11 around 6:30 a.m. at 142nd Street between 106th and 107th avenues.
"I look, and I see the first lashing then, the second lashing the man fell," said Geeta Persaud, a witness. "And I run up to there, but I don't go too close because I'm afraid that he's going to hit me, and I'm screaming to people, 'Open the door!' Nobody opened the door."
Once the victim was knocked to the ground, police said the suspect stole his cellphone and took off.
"He hit him and he take the man's phone away," Persaud said. "He had on a hoodie and he had on sweatpants... and he's very tall. He's very tall from the back, but he never looked back at me."
Persaud said she was scared the suspect would beat her up, too. She said she kept screaming for help, which alerted a neighbor who called 911.
First responders arrived and took the victim to Jamaica Hospital where he was treated for a head injury and released.
"He's always quiet, nice," one person said.
"It's very rare that anything over here happens," said another neighbor.
The suspect is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall and approximately 150 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
