Caught On Video: Woman Punched In Back Of Head In Unprovoked Subway Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Another unprovoked attack was caught on video at a subway station in Manhattan.
This incident happened at around 10:15 p.m. last Thursday on the 7 train platform at Grand Central Station.
Surveillance video shows the suspect run up behind a woman and punch her in the back of the head.
Police said the victim, identified as 60-year-old Luzby Gallego, suffered injuries to her head and arm, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment.
The suspect took off on a northbound 5 train.
"Awful. You know when you see these things on the news you never expect that would happen to your own mom. It was just too sad," said Viviana Martinez, the victim's daughter.
Gallego's daughter said her mother works two jobs and gets off work late at night. She was praying for safety, the rosary playing through her headphones, when the unthinkable happened.
"She fell on her left arm and she was totally disoriented. She didn't know anything. She started screaming for help and nobody did help her, so she just went on the train and she called the ambulance from the actual train," Martinez said.
Subway riders told CBS2's Christina Fan they were not shocked to hear about the attack.
"Got to be careful, watch your surroundings," one rider said.
"Surprising? No. We live in New York, and, unfortunately these are one of the things we have to deal with," another rider added.
CrimeStoppers posters on the same platform detail the last attack that happened this month. Police said a suspect slashed a fellow passenger in the face aboard a southbound 7 train on July 5.
Asked whether she felt nervous on the subway, one rider said, "Sometimes, especially late in the evening. You have a lot of homeless people here."
"All the nuts are running around, and no one can make them be medicated," said another rider.
The city has increased police presence underground by the hundreds. Crime statistics suggest it is working. Felony assaults are down 25% over the last 28 days compared to the same time last year.
"That 1,100 additional police officers, in my opinion, had an immediate impact," Feinberg said. "We've also had an added police presence from the MTA police. They've surged into the subway system more than they ever have previously," NYC Transit Transit Authority Interim President Sarah Feinberg said.
But riders like Martinez's mother have not felt the desired effects. The night she was attacked, she said there was no one to help.
"After 10 p.m., there is no police to be seen in the train station," Martinez said.
The MTA says another measure of security are the surveillance cameras that captured the suspect in action. Every station is scheduled to be equipped with them by the end of the summer. But the victim said, in her case, the cameras were hardly a deterrent.
Anyone with information about the attacks is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
CBS2's Christina Fan contributed to this report.
