'I Thought It Was The End': Deliveryman Describes Frightening Encounter With Armed Man In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man with a handgun terrorized people along several blocks in Brooklyn, even hitting a deliveryman in the back of his head.
The deliveryman lives in the Crown Heights neighborhood where he was attacked and told CBS2's Ali Bauman he typically felt pretty safe biking around the area -- until a complete stranger hit him in the head with a gun.
Surveillance video shows a man in a reflective track suit meandering around the area on Friday evening. He kicks trash, puts a gun to his own head and hits the gun against buildings, even shattering a window at Bais Rikvah Elementary School.
"When it happened, I thought it was the end. Like, I thought I was gonna get shot right there," said the 23-year-old deliveryman, who did not want to be identified.
He was delivering food on his bicycle around 8 p.m. and had stopped at a red light on New York Avenue when the suspect walked over.
"Once he saw me, he started walking fast. It's not like I could turn around and pedal fast. I didn't know what he had in his hand," the deliveryman said.
The deliveryman says the suspect held out his gun.
"And he's like, 'Teach me how to use the gun. Teach me how to use the gun.' Me with my hands up, I'm like, 'I don't know how to use the gun at all,'" he said.
In a moment of panic, the deliveryman tried to knock the gun out of the man's hand.
"When I moved his hand away, he just pistol-whipped me and walked off," the deliveryman said.
Police say from there, the suspect walked over to a car parked on Lefferts Avenue, yelled through the window at a 55-year-old woman sitting inside, hit the sideview mirror then hit his gun against another car parked in front.
"I saw a crazy man walking up to me, so I knew he was capable of doing more than what he did to me," the deliveryman said.
The school's window is still shattered.
The deliveryman has some slight swelling on the back of his head but says overall he considers himself lucky.
"Things like this happen. It could always go left, but I walked away with my life, so I'm grateful for that," the deliveryman said.
The victim is back to work making deliveries but says now he has to be more cautious.
Police ask anyone who may recognize him to call authorities.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also directed the state police hate crimes task force to assist in the investigation due to the vandalism of the Bais Rikvah School.
