'He Was Just Going Wild:' Man Accused Of Threatening Priest, Hitting Parishioner Arrested
Note: This post was updated with the suspect's arrest on Nov. 7, 2019.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A man accused of threatening a priest and punching a woman outside a church in Queens has been arrested.
Chun Wang, 36, was charged early Thursday morning with assault and harassment.
The incident happened around noon on Monday, Oct. 28 at Saint Michael's Church on 41st Avenue in Flushing.
Father John Vesey said the Wang was a regular at the church's Sunday lunches for the homeless. The day before the attack, he was asked not to return.
"He gets very, very angry and gets angry with our staff. One of the women - what we would call the administrator - she said we can't serve you if you're going to be like that, treating people," Vesey said.
So when Wang came back the next day, Vesey told him to leave again.
"We were just beginning mass, and he was just being disruptive. We said to him, 'really, you can't be here,' and he said all sorts of things to me, threatening," he said. "Couple seconds later, he was just going wild again, and that's when he hit the woman."
The 53-year-old victim was walking into the church for midday mass when she was struck in the back of the head.
"Crying and just saying, 'I've just been hit and I'm hurt,'" said Vesey.
The woman was taken to Booth Memorial Hospital in stable condition.
Vesey said she has been back for mass but is still recovering from neck injuries.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting 274637.
