NYPD looking for suspect who assaulted woman on Bronx street

Police were searching Friday for a suspect who allegedly assaulted a 43-year-old woman in an apparent unprovoked attack in the Bronx earlier this month.

The incident happened just before midnight on Dec. 21 in the Concourse neighborhood, according to the NYPD. Police said the male suspect — whom they have not yet identified — approached the woman near McClellan Street and Sherman Avenue and struck her in the face with an “unknown object” before running away.

The man was described as about 5 feet 9 inches tall and was last seen wearing a black hoodie sweater, black pants and white shoes and holding a metallic-colored cane.

While overall crime in New York City is down 4% this year compared to 2022, felony assaults are up 6% and have spiked almost 30% since the start of the pandemic. The city had about 27,000 reported felony assaults this year, up from nearly 21,000 in 2019. Police officials and crime experts told Gothamist the increase could be partly related to the growing number of people living on the street, who may be more likely to be involved in violence as victims or perpetrators.

Anyone with any information about the Dec. 21 incident can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish, or submit tips at the Crime Stoppers website.