NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A man punched a woman in the face and pushed her down a flight of stairs at a Queens subway station this week in the latest unprovoked transit attack, police said Thursday as the victim recovered from a back fracture and the suspect remained at-large.
The 22-year-old woman was standing on the northbound 7 line platform at the elevated 82nd Street–Jackson Heights station around 5:20 a.m. Sunday when the man came up and slugged her at random, according to police.
The man then shoved her down a staircase that leads to the mezzanine level, police said.
After assaulting the woman, the man picked up her bag and threw it down the stairs. Police said no property was stolen.
The victim suffered injuries to her back, right hand and left knee.
She took private transport to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, where she was listed in stable condition.
She was ultimately diagnosed with a compression fracture to her back.
The suspect, who fled the station after the attack, is believed to be about 45 years old.
The attack comes amid heightened concern about a recent spat of attacks in the transit system, many of them entirely unprovoked and some even deadly.
With felonies up more 42% in the subway so far this year compared to 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan last weekend to increase the presence of police officers in the transit system in an effort to put weary riders at ease.
The new plan—dubbed “Cops, Cameras, and Care”—includes an additional 1,200 police overtime shifts in the subway each day, with the state helping to foot the bill. Cameras are also being installed in subway cars, an ongoing effort that was previously announced.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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