Woman shares how a bystander saved her during random attack in NYC
Woman randomly attacked in Queens
A woman spoke out to FOX 5 about the random attack in Queens that she was a victim of last week. She said another woman began punching her out of nowhere and was forced to use her umbrella to defend herself. FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis talked to her about this frightening experience.
QUEENS - A woman was randomly attacked in broad daylight while leaving a Long Island City Chipotle on Wednesday.
Running Lao tells FOX 5 that thankfully she was saved by a stranger passing by.
Lao, tells FOX 5's Antwan Lewis that a man who she had never met, came to her rescue when he noticed she was being attacked.
She says the attack happened in the middle of the day with people walking by but no one stopped to help, except for one concerned stranger turned friend.
Now, she says they've spoken to each other every day in an effort to help her process the attack.
"It's been healing. I thought I was gonna be ugly duckling for a while, but I think with enough resting, it's going to be much better," Lao said referring to the bruises on her face.
Lao says a woman began punching her at random and that she tried to use her umbrella to defend herself.
The woman Lao says attacked her at random.
"I grabbed my umbrella from my bag [and] tried to keep some distance with her, but she took it immediately. She broke it in half, and then she used my umbrella to shove it into my face," Lao said.
The attack left her with cuts to her forehead and the left side of her face.
Jerome David, 56, saw Lao on the ground after the attack, but said he thought it was a staged joke at first.
"Miss Lao starts screaming ‘help, help’ and bloods gushing from her head," he said when he realized it wasn't a joke.
David said he then pinned the woman down as she swung at him, hitting him so hard in the face that she broke his glasses.
He says he even had to sit on the woman in order to hold her until police arrived.
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Woman punched by man in NYC left with broken jaw, nerve damage, speaks out
The man accused of punching Dulce was arrested, charged with assault and harassment and later released.
Queen City Council member Julie Won says the suspect appeared to have had mental health issues.
"What we're trying to grapple with right now as a city that we're seeing all throughout is the rise in mental health issues and homelessness combined in one," Won says.
She says the issue is that the people who are causing these violent crimes are being arrested and then immediately released--something lawmakers across the city continue to raise concerns about.
Lao says David has been coaching her through her trauma.
"I told her. I said, look, the physical scar will go away, but the emotional scar you have to beat that, you have to conquer that. Don't let it conquer you," David tells her.
Police say the woman is in custody and has been remanded at Rikers pending a court date.
The investigation remains ongoing.