Man caught on video taking running punch at 60-year-old woman on NY subway platform
Woman was admitted to Mount Sinai after unprovoked punch at Grand Central in New York City despite crime decrease on transport network
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Police are appealing for information about a man caught on video punching a commuter at Grand Central Terminal in New York City.
The New York Police Department are asking anyone with information to come forward. The attacker’s identity is currently is unknown, however the victim is Luzby Gallego, a 60-year-old woman.
Authorities state the the incident took place on 15 July at roughly 10.13pm at Grand Central. He is then believed to have left the scene on a northbound subway train. Law enforcement understand that the attack was unprovoked.
Ms Gallego faced injuries on her head and arm and received treatment at Mount Sinai Hospital. Viviana Martinez, the victim’s daughter, gave more details about what happened to her mother.
“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,” she told CBS New York.
Ms Martinez went on to explain how her mother was going home from work, playing the rosary via headphones while praying for a safe return home. When she was attacked, no one helped her and there were no police to be seen on the platform.
“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,” she continued.
The attack on Ms Gallego came as crime is believed to be on the decline on the Metropolitan Transit Authority-run transport system. According to reporting by The New York Post, data collected by the NYPD shows that crime on the New York underground train system is decreasing. Last month, there were 111 major felonies, compared to 168 major felonies in May.
This means that for every million travellers on the network, there were 2.89 offences committed in May. In June, there was 1.78 offences per million travellers.
The MTA attributed the decreasing rates of crime due to the increase of police on the train system.
“The recent decline in transit crime started in June, following the addition of more than 1,100 NYPD officers to the subway system — which came after months of MTA requests,” said Aaron Donovan, a MTA spokesperson, in a statement.