Police are searching for a perpetrator who allegedly pushed an 81-year-old dogwalker to the ground in New York City’s Upper East Side early Christmas morning.
NYPD Crime Stoppers released a video Wednesday morning of what police said was an unprovoked assault, according to Pix 11.
Footage shows the 81-year-old speaking with another pedestrian who was also walking a dog and pushing a stroller at about 12:30 a.m. on December 25, 2021. The pair were chatting at East 86th Street and Henderson Place, just blocks away from the Gracie Mansion, the residence of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), and now home to Mayor Eric Adams (D).
Video shows the perpetrator come into view before he walks directly between the two dog walkers and subsequently pushes the 81-year-old to the ground. The man falls to his right side before rolling over onto his stomach as his dog worriedly scurries around and the other pedestrian moves to check on the man. The footage then cuts to the suspect walking westbound on East 86th, according to the New York Post.
As the perpetrator walks away, he turns around and appears to flip the bird to his victim and the other dogwalker, video shows.
“Police said the victim sustained minor injuries to his hand, hip and shoulder, but refused medical attention,” Pix11 reports.
Police say the adult male suspect has a dark complexion and wore a red shirt, blue hoodie, and jeans in the attack, the New York Post reports.
Anyone with information regarding the assault is encouraged to reach out to NYPD’s Crime Stoppers at Call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
The incident comes as violent crimes in New York City have made headlines recently. Breitbart News reported that a 61-year-old homeless man admitted to reporters that he fatally pushed an Asian woman in front of a moving train on Saturday at the Times Square Subway Station.
In a separate Subway attack in the early morning of New Year’s Day, a Good Samaritan was killed by a train while attempting to save a victim of an alleged gang assault who fell onto the tracks, Breitbart News reported. Two teens, ages 16 and 17, were arrested on January 12 in connection with the death of 36-year-old Good Samaritan Rolan Hueston.
The 16-year-old “was charged with murder, manslaughter, robbery, gang assault and assault,” while the 17-year-old received “the same charges in addition to attempted murder and attempted manslaughter,” authorities said, according to the New York Post,” Breitbart News reported.