Steve Buscemi punched in the face in random attack while walking in New York City
Actor’s publicist described Buscemi as “another victim of a random act of violence in the city”
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Steve Buscemi, the star of the Coen brothers film Fargo and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, was randomly assaulted in New York City and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The attack occurred near 369 Third Avenue in the Kips Bay area of Manhattan last Wednesday morning and left New Yorker Mr Buscemi, 66, with bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment, according to police.
On Sunday, Mr Buscemi’s publicist shared a statement updating the public on his condition.
“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Midtown Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” the statement reads.
“He is OK and appreciates everyone’s well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of NY.”
In March, Mr Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star Michael Stuhlbarg was also assaulted at random while out in the city, marking the second actor from the HBO hit series to be attacked this year.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) put out a statement about the assault on Wednesday but did not identify the victim. Mr Buscemi’s representative later confirmed on Sunday that the unidentified assault victim in the police statement was the actor.
At the time of the attack, police said that the suspect was “wearing a dark coloured baseball style cap, blue t shirt, black pants, white sneakers, and carrying a bookbag”.
The NYPD said there were no arrests and the investigation was continuing.
An onlooker told the New York Post what she saw of the attack, noting that she didn’t see what the assailant looked like.
“I saw he was with a woman, and then through the corner of the window I saw him trip and fall backwards,” the woman told the publication.
“He right away got up and ran in the opposite direction... I didn’t see who hit him.”
The NYPD released images of the alleged suspect, who is pictured wearing a blue t-shirt, black trousers and a black cap while carrying a book bag.
Overall crime is on the decline across the city compared with the same period last year, according to the NYPD’s latest figures.
The number of felony assaults, however, are on the rise with 9,189 complaints made this year, up to 5 May – a four per cent rise from the same period in 2023.
Mr Buscemi was born in Brooklyn, New York City and has lived in the city for most of his life.
In the 1980s, Mr Buscemi was an FDNY firefighter before leaving the profession to pursue an acting career. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Buscemi returned to his old department for volunteer shifts and searched for missing firefighters under the rubble.
The attack is one of a series of random assaults on the streets of New York City in recent years.
Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire co-star Michael Stuhlbargwas assaulted at random earlier this year. Stuhlbarg was hit in the back of the neck with a rock while walking in Manhattan's Central Park on 31 March. Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, who was taken into custody outside the park.
Police confirmed the following day that the alleged attacker was 27-year-old Xavier Israel, who is thought to have attacked Stuhlbarg, 55, in the back of the neck with the weapon, causing an abrasion and other injuries.
Just days earlier on 27 March, a man was charged with assault following reports that he’d indiscriminately punched women in the face in a series of “unprovoked” attacks.
Skiboky Stora, 40, from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested after he took a swipe at TikToker, Halley Kate, in Manhattan. She posted it to her 1.2 million followers, with the clip quickly going viral.
Ms Kate sustained an injury to the left side of her face as she fell to the ground, according to the NYPD. The 23-year-old said the blow caused her to black out “for a second”.
“You guys, I was literally just walking and a man came up and punched me in the face,” she tearfully told her audience in the video just days before Mr Stora’s arrest.