Police: Suspect Attacked Man For No Clear Reason In Stamford, Conn.
STAMFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Stamford, Connecticut were searching Wednesday for a suspect the said attacked a man for no apparent reason.
As CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported, investigators said the man was just waiting for his child to get off the bus when he was assaulted last week.
It was at the corner of West Main Street and Rose Park Avenue in Stamford where the father attacked was around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
"At that point, another male Hispanic now comes up, starts screaming, swearing at him for absolutely no reason," said Stamford police Lt. Diedrich Hohn. "He bumps into him. At that point, he starts punching him around the chest and face area."
Hohn said the victim's nose and phone were broken in the attack, and the ranting and raving suspect spat on the victim and a woman at the scene.
Both were seen on surveillance video from the deli on the corner, heading inside for help. The man could be seen clutching his bleeding nose.
The attacker then followed them into the deli.
"At that point, he actually picked up the broken cellphone and jammed it into the victim's jacket, and said he didn't want to be accused of a robbery, and then he took off," Hohn said.
But he did not escape before the cameras here got his picture.
Kerry Murray was waiting for her own child's bus. She remembers seeing the suspect right before the attack.
"He was just walking down, and then it all of a sudden, like, out of the blue, kind of just happened," Murray said.
Police said the attack was out of the blue, and that the attacker clearly wasn't in his right mind.
"This was a total unprovoked attack in the middle of the day. This gentleman was just waiting for his son to pick up from school; this guy just came out of nowhere," Hohn said. "That's why we do believe he might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and you can see from the video that he's very irrational."
The random nature of the attack had residents on edge.
"That's scary," Murray said. "Because I could be walking down the street, and someone could randomly attack me – and especially if I'm with my child. And that's not a good feeling at all."
As of Wednesday, police were putting up these wanted posters in the neighborhood with the photo of the suspect taken in the deli. A red arrow on the picture pointed out a distinctive bump on the suspect's face.
The suspect was described as being about 6 feet tall with a medium build and facial hair.
Police asked anyone who recognizes the suspect to call Stamford police detectives.
