Search Continues For Suspect In Greenwich Village Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The search continues for a man who police say hit three people in the face in separate attacks over the weekend in Greenwich Village.
Surveillance images of the alleged attacker were snapped outside of Saint John's Lutheran Church on Christopher Street around the time police say he went on the attack, assaulting unsuspecting victims Saturday night.
Around 10 p.m., police say a 22-year-old woman was walking when the man, muttering something under his breath, came up to her and randomly hit her, leaving her with a cut lip.
A couple of minutes later and a few doors away, they say he went after a 35-year-old man, hitting him too and leaving a cut on his nose.
About a minute later, police said he did the same to a 60-year-old man on the same block. That man was left with a cut on his mouth.
"I've lived here since I was a teenager. I saw the neighborhood bad in the 70s and the neighborhood is very, very good. I am surprised," resident Alice Carey told CBS2's Janelle Burrell.
"I'm kind of shocked because this is a very safe neighborhood and I just saw a police car down the street, which is great," said commuter Tina Geider. "I've never had a problem here, ever."
Carey said the block is a high traffic area.
"This place is a thoroughfare because we have the PATH train and we have the 7th Avenue and the 8th Avenue and so this is a corridor," she said.
And it's sometimes even busier on a Saturday night.
"It's very busy and lively," said resident Mackey Reed. "There's a lot of bars around here"
Detectives don't believe the man was trying to rob his victims. They describe him as a black man in his mid 20s, 6' tall and around 175 pounds. He was seen wearing all dark clothing.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
