A mother living in New York City alleges that a stranger on the subway repeatedly punched her sleeping, 2-year-old child. That’s horrible enough, but what’s worse is that no one on the train came to help her and her toddler. The 21-year-old mother, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told CBS2 the woman had been panhandling, asking for money from the person next to her prior to the incident.
According to the mom, she had asked the stranger to practice social distancing and to stand six feet from her and her child before the woman pummeled her sleeping child.
A woman attacked a two-year-old child on the Uptown C train, police are searching for the perpetrator, who repeatedly punched the toddler.
According to the accusation, the train was nearing the 116 Street station in Harlem when a female panhandler began asking people on the subway car for money. The woman asked the person sitting next to the victim for money and was too close for the victim’s mother’s comfort.
As the woman approached the victim, the child’s mom asked her to stand further away to maintain a safe distance.
“I said, ‘Ma’am, can you please stay six feet away? Please back off,’” the mom recounted to CBS2.
The panhandling woman began to walk away when she stepped on the mom’s foot and lost her footing.
“I held up my hand to try to protect my baby from her falling on my baby,” the mother explained.
Then, the situation took a real turn for the absurd.
“She turned around and she just started punching my baby, and punching him and punching him,” she continued.
That’s when she began to realize that no one was willing to help her in a time of need.
“I was just asking people, ‘Can you all please get my baby! Please get him!’ she explained. “And nobody tried to stop. They were just standing there.”
Eventually, the assailant ceased the violence and the woman contacted the police. Unfortunately, by the time they responded, the attacker was long gone.
Since the attack, the mom says she has noticed clear signs of trauma from her child.
The toddler, a young boy, was taken to the hospital shortly after the attack and was released without any major injuries. However, the psychological damage to the child can’t easily be undone.
“This morning, when he woke up, he was shaking,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s part of the seizures that the doctor said he would have.”
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The attacker is described as a heavy-set woman in her 40s with a buzz cut and neck tattoo. The NYPD is asking anyone with any relevant information to please come forward.
The story is just the latest in a growing trend in many cities across the country from big to small. The NY Daily News reports a 97% increase in shootings in NYC since the beginning of the pandemic.
Following this latest incident Police have assigned 500 additional uniformed officers to patrol the subway system. The MTA has asked for 1000 uniformed police officers to patrol the sprawling subway system.
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That does not seem to be helping the mother of the victim as she says their presence has not made a difference to her.
“You see everything on the train station. It’s so mind blowing,” she explained. “Like, where is the police?”
Getting others like the attacker who might not have access to proper mental health care, housing, financial resources, and much more would also go a long way to alleviate the situation as well. No child deserves to be assaulted by a stranger. But, we need to also examine the circumstances leading up to such an attack to prevent more in the future. We are in the midst of a pandemic after all, and many people are hurting.
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