NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- A Bronx bodega clerk and mother of four was brutally attacked with a club hammer over the weekend and has been hospitalized for days, an advocacy group for bodega workers said Tuesday.
The 41-year-old clerk, whose name is Oralia, was attacked Saturday morning at a bodega on East 188th Street in Fordham Heights.
According to the United Bodegas of America, a man and woman had "demanded their money back for a hookah they purchased the week before" when one of them assaulted her.
"She said the male came from nowhere and just started beating her with the hammer," UBA spokesperson Fernando Mateo said in a statement after speaking with the victim.
She's currently hospitalized in serious condition at St. Barnabas Hospital with head and facial injuries, according to the UBA, which said she received 20 stitches and underwent five CT scans and an MRI.
It wasn't immediately clear if any arrests had been made in the attack.
UBA officials said this is the fourth act of violence at a bodega over the past week, including the fatal stabbing of a man at a Queens bodega on Saturday night.
In January, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $40 million investment plan to help bodega and small business owners curb shoplifting and violence, with $5 million allocated to increase security and police presence at the establishments. The UBA is calling on the governor to release the funds.
"It could be saving lives today, not tomorrow," said Radhames Rodriguez, president of the UBA.