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Police Identify Suspect In Subway Station Hammer Attack

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One day after CBS 2 spoke exclusively to a man attacked with a hammer at a Brooklyn subway station, police said they have identified the suspect in the attack.

As CBS 2's John Slattery reported exclusively Thursday, police believe the attacker has done it at least twice before – on one occasion at the very same subway station. A pregnant woman was among the other victims.

CBS 2 Exclusive: Victim Talks About Horror Of Hammer Attack In Subway

Richianand Brijanand of Ozone Park said he was lucky the hammer blow to his head wasn't more serious.

Richianand Brijanand
Richianand Brijanand (CBS 2)

"I'm feeling, like, swelling – a lot of swelling," Brijanand said. "It swells from here, all the way up here, to the bottom here." He pointed to his right ear, his right temple and the side of his right eye.

Brijanand, 32, emigrated from Guyana 12 years ago and works for Staples office supplies. He was in the Rockaway Avenue and Fulton Street A and C train station in Bedford-Stuyvesant Wednesday morning buying a MetroCard when he was viciously struck.

Riders On Alert After Subway Hammer Attack In Brooklyn

"I went up to the machine trying to make my purchase, and all of a sudden he just hit me right in the head – boom," Brijanand said, adding that he did not see it coming.

Brijanand said it was then that he got a look at the attacker.

"I just spun around, and when I turned around, he held the hammer again to frighten me," Brijanand said. "He said, 'Give me your money -- after he hit me."

Brijanand says as the thief took $140 from his wallet. He was able to get a good look at the man and his hammer.

"I guess he held it with two of his hands, because when I saw him with the hammer in hand, he held it with both hands," Brijanand said.

Brijanand was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a head injury and released. He said with his face swollen, it is hard for him to eat.

"It is hard, because you know, we are working people, and he shouldn't be there in the first place," Brijanand said. "The cops should try to get him."

The photos of the suspect are clear, and one shows him smiling. Police described the suspect as a black male, 5-foot-10, weighing between 130 and 150 pounds.

Brooklyn Hammer Attack Suspect
Police say this man struck another man in the head with a hammer while robbing him on a Brooklyn subway platform. (Credit: CBS 2)

Police believe two earlier incidents are related to the Wednesday morning attack – one in a residential neighborhood in Queens, the other the same Brooklyn subway station.

Around 7 a.m. March 5, a 26-year-old pregnant woman was hit from behind in the head with a hammer at 138-49 Pershing Crescent in Briarwood, Queens. Her handbag was stolen, and she was taken to Jamaica Hospital Center, police said.

And this past Sunday, a 23-year-old man was knocked to the ground and beaten with a hammer, again at the Rockaway Avenue A and C train station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The suspect took the man's wallet, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 [CRIMES] and entering TIP577.

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