Elderly Muslim Brutally Beaten, Slashed On Face In NY Subway By Robbers

KEY POINTS

A 64-year-old man was punched, kicked and slashed with a razor by robbers at a Manhattan subway station Sunday
He was transported to a hospital and received seven stitches for his injuries
Police are offering a reward of up to $3,500 for any information that can lead to the attackers' arrests

Police are on the lookout for two men who attacked and robbed a 64-year-old man in a Manhattan, New York, subway station over the weekend.

The two men approached the elderly victim, who wanted to catch a train back to Brooklyn, in the Lexington Avenue/59th Street station shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday and demanded money, the New York Police Department's (NYPD) Crime Stoppers division said in a post Monday.

Footage of the incident released by the NYPD showed the two attackers repeatedly punching and kicking the victim by the station's turnstile before the man handed over his belongings to the robbers. Additionally, police said the two men slashed the victim across the forehead with a razor, the New York Post reported.

"Give me the money or we'll kill you," one of the attackers allegedly told the elderly man during the encounter, according to police.

WANTED for A Robbery at the Lexington Avenue and East 59 Street train station. #Manhattan @NYPD17pct on 5/30/21@4:57AM two unidentified males approached the victim and demanded cash Reward up to $3500Seen them?Know who they are? Call 1-800-577-TIPSor DM us!Calls are CONFIDENTIAL! pic.twitter.com/dHEigk9DZD
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) May 31, 2021

Authorities said the robbers were able to escape with the victim's phone and $100.

The victim, who police said had just finished praying at a nearby mosque prior to the incident, initially did not want to report the crime to authorities and instead returned to the mosque to clean up his wounds. Security, however, called the police upon his return.

Medical responders transported the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where he received seven stitches in his forehead.

No arrests have been made. Police are offering a reward of up to $3,500 for any information that can lead to the assailants' identification and arrest.

The attack took place two weeks after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to deploy 250 more police officers to the city's subway system in response to recent crimes in stations. They would join the 3,000 officers already patrolling the transit system.

While available data indicated overall crime was down, a decrease in ridership has made the per-rider crime rate higher compared to recent years. City officials, however, still insist the subway is safe.

Candidates seeking to replace de Blasio in the city's mayoral elections in November have also touched on the issue, with leading democratic candidate Andrew Yang hoping an increase in the number of police officers investigating gun crimes and patrolling subways would help lower crime rates.