Police have released a closer photo of the suspect in a brutal hammering attack at a Queens subway station that left a 57-year-old woman hospitalized with serious head injuries.
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NYPD
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The woman, who works as a researcher for the city’s Department of Health, was kicked down the stairs and hit in the head with a hammer multiple times before being robbed by the suspect Thursday at the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City.according to a report from the New York Police.
The victim, identified in an affidavit and by her employer as Nina Rothschild, was returning home from work and walking to the station, which services the E, M and R lines, around 11:30 p.m., when she was attacked, the senior official said.
Rothschild was allegedly ambushed by the stranger, who is seen on video following her to the station. Cops say he pulled the hammer from her after kicking her down the stairs and hitting her several times in the head.
She then grabbed her bag, which had some cash, two phones, two rings, and credit and debit cards, and fled the scene. It is not clear if words were exchanged.
Officers found Rothschild lying on the ground with head trauma. Paramedics took the victim to the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where it was said that she is seriously injured with a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.
Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, called the attack “horrible” in a statement and said the agency’s thoughts were with the woman and her family.
“Nina has worked tirelessly in service to her fellow New Yorkers and is truly a public health hero,” Chokshi said. “The Health Department and I will do everything we can to support her recovery, and we ask all New Yorkers to keep her and her family in mind while respecting her privacy during this difficult time.”
No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers al 1-800-577-TIPS.
The horrific attack comes less than a week after Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul jointly announced a new subway security initiative designed both to mitigate recent spikes in violence on the transit system and intensify the reach of the homeless as the city seeks to encourage a post-COVID uptick in subway use.
Officials shared more details about that plan earlier this week, saying it would target six priority lines to start with: A, E, 1/2/3 (described as a combined target), N, R and 7, and would include more deployment of police and social service workers.
Thursday’s attack marks one of nearly a dozen recorded in transit since the announcement.
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