Father and son did not hesitate to leave their pizzeria in Queens to help an older Asian woman who they saw being brutally beaten by two men on the street. Both were attacked, but they affirm that they would not hesitate to protect a defenseless person again.
Louis Suljovic, 38, recounted from his hospital bed that he and his father were working at their Elmhurst pizzeria on the corner of Judge Street and Baxter Avenue shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday when they heard a woman cry out for help. .
Suljovic and her 68-year-old father ran outside and saw that the woman had been stabbed in the back by the suspects. The criminals tried to run away with the woman’s bag, but the father-son duo ran after them.
Suljovic said the two suspects stabbed them and a woman who was with the thugs hit him in the head with a cane. During the attack he was stabbed once in the back and suffered a punctured lung.
His father was stabbed nine times and also suffered a punctured lung. He remains hospitalized and was unable to speak Tuesday, but both are expected to recover from their injuries.
This capeless hero said he could not watch idly as the attack on the woman continued. She was old and defenseless, Suljovic emphasized. He also stated during an interview with our sister network NBC 4 that police told him that one of the suspects was wanted in connection with another attack on Asians the previous week.
Suljovic insisted that more steps be taken to curb attacks on New York City’s Asian community. He expressed that “nobody is doing anything about it.”
Asked if he would step up again, Sulijovic said: “100%.”
According to police, the 61-year-old woman the father and son saw being attacked told authorities she was pushed from behind and her bag was stolen. She also told authorities that her father and son ran out to help her.
Ultimately, two suspects were apprehended and police say a large amount of what appeared to be heroin was discovered in the possession of one of them.
That would be Robert Whack, 30, of Brooklyn, according to police. The man faces charges including robbery, assault, gang assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Whack was set on $250,000 cash bond or $500,000 insurance bond at his arraignment Tuesday.
He is due back in court on Friday. It’s not clear if Whack pleaded guilty, nor was information immediately available about a possible attorney for him.
Also arrested in the case and still awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon was Supreme Gooding, an 18-year-old Manhattan man. Gooding faces charges of robbery, gang assault, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. The details of his lawyer were also not known.
It was also unclear if the woman’s purse was recovered.
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