NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The NYPD did not receive any 911 call reporting Monday’s brutal attack on an Asian-American woman in Manhattan, though surveillance footage shows several people witnessed it, a detective said Wednesday.
Convicted murderer Brandon Elliott, 38, was arrested early Wednesday morning after he allegedly shoved, kicked and stomped on a 65-year-old Filipino woman in front of a building in Hell’s Kitchen Monday morning, police said.
At a news briefing on Wednesday afternoon, NYPD Detective Michael Rodriguez said there “were no 911 calls” after the broad-daylight assault.
“The patrol officers from that part of Manhattan, they came upon the victim after she was assaulted,” Rodriguez told reporters. “So no 911 calls.”
Surveillance video released by the NYPD after the attack shows several staff members inside the West 43rd Street building, including a security guard, witness at least part of the attack.
The Brodsky Organization, which operates the building, said the staffers had "been suspended pending an investigation in conjunction with their union.” Rodriguez’ remarks at the briefing appeared to contradict the union’s claim that its workers “called for help” after the assault.
Elliott, who was released from prison on lifetime parole in 2019 after stabbing his mother to death with a knife in the Bronx in 2002, was expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon on two counts of second-degree hate crime assault, as well as one count of first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said at the news briefing.
The suspect, who was living in a hotel that houses the homeless a few blocks from the attack scene, could face up to 25 years in prison if he is convicted, as well as “other consequences related to his lifetime parole,” Vance said. His attorney information wasn’t immediately available.
The 65-year-old woman Elliott allegedly attacked was still hospitalized as of Tuesday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at the briefing.
The woman's daughter told the New York Times she moved to the United States from the Philippines several decades ago. The attack left the woman with a shattered pelvis, her daughter said.
Shea on Wednesday called the assault a “completely unprovoked, violent attack on an innocent, defenseless woman.”
“Let me reiterate: We will never accept or tolerate violence of that kind in our great city,” he said. “It goes against every fiber of who we are.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison, meanwhile, urged New Yorkers who witness violent incidents to report them to police.
“If somebody happens to encounter a hate crime, if you see something, please say something. Call 911. Try to get a good description,” he said. “If you want to remain anonymous, utilize our hotline, 1-800-577-TIPS.”
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