Tourist Attacked With Bottle On Subway: 'New York Is Like A Dream To Go Visit ... But At This Time It's An Unsafe Place To Walk'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As the mayor tries to woo tourists back to New York City, a visitor from Colombia shared her cautionary tale after an unprovoked attack on the subway landed her in the hospital.
The 27-year-old tourist asked CBS2 to conceal her identity. Through a translator, she described to reporter Christina Fan how a man terrorized her on a Queens-bound E train on Monday evening, poking her face before bashing her head with a glass bottle.
"I don't understand English, so I don't understand what he was saying to me. But, he screamed really loud and he was telling me a lot of things and I was frozen," she said.
READ MORE: More Violence On Subways: Police Say Tourist Hit With Bottle, Man Slashed In Separate Attacks
The victim said she tried to escape, but with the train in between stops near the Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street station, she was trapped.
"He hit me with something in the head and then I put my hand on my head. Blood started running down. I was so afraid," she said.
READ MORE: Subway Rider Punched In Face In Unprovoked Attack
The NYPD says felony assaults on the subway are at the highest level in at least 21 years. In response, Mayor Bill de Blasio has deployed hundreds of additional officers underground.
"The NYPD transit force today is the biggest in 25 years and we're working closely with the MTA to keep everyone safe in the subways. New Yorkers are vaccinated in record numbers. The Summer of NYC is here; there's no better time to visit, and we'll continue to cheer on our city's recovery," wrote Mitch Schwartz, the mayor's Deputy Press Secretary, in a statement.
But the Transport Workers Union says it's not making a difference.
"He may say on paper he has committed a certain amount of resources, but if it's not having the desired effect then maybe they need more or they need to look at how they are being deployed," said Eric Loegel of TWU Local 100.
This latest victim agrees.
"What scared me the most is that you get off the train and there's no one to help," she said.
READ MORE: Exclusive: Man Speaks Out After Being Randomly Struck In Head With Rock On Subway In Brooklyn
The Colombian tourist said this was her third time visiting the Big Apple.
"When one comes from another country, New York is like a dream to go visit, have your vacation here. But at this time it's an unsafe place to walk, and when you're a woman and alone in the streets it's extremely vulnerable," she said.
She hopes this trip doesn't become her last.
CBS2's Christina Fan contributed to this report.
