By Marlyn Montilla
Aug 12, 2024, 4:40 PM EDT
An unknown Brooklyn man randomly punched a French tourist in Midtown on Saturday morning, causing the victim to fall headfirst into a stone step, according to police sources and security camera video.
Identified as Philippe Mary, 60, she was walking past the Burger King on West 42nd Street between 8th and 9th avenues at about 9:30 a.m. when the alleged attacker, Norman Nelson, 49, crept up behind the tourist and delivered a left jab to the side of her head, according to the video.
The impact caused Mary to fall to the concrete and she appeared to hit her head on a step near the restaurant’s entrance, the video shows.
Two people, including the man who was walking with Mary, quickly went after the criminal and the three started a fight in the bus lane that ended when Nelson ran away.
The tourist, who jumped to her feet after being hit, walked back to the step and bent down as her fellow countrymen tried to help her, the video shows.
Authorities later captured Nelson, a repeat offender with at least six prior arrests, and charged him with third-degree assault, aggravated harassment and other charges, the sources said, according to court records.
Mary was also taken to Bellevue Hospital so doctors could examine a laceration on her forehead and a nosebleed she sustained after being hit, the sources said.
The suspect also faces charges in an unrelated incident on Aug. 6, when he allegedly struck an 81-year-old man in the head with a box shortly before noon on East 14th Street, sources said.
The elderly man, identified as Peter Bardazzi, was taken to New York University Hospital for treatment.
Nelson was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree assault with intent to cause bodily injury for the attack.
Many of the offender’s previous arrests were for fare evasion, the sources said.
Manhattan’s West Side has been in the spotlight lately, as oddballs, unstable people and drug addicts have flooded the streets and threatened locals and tourists alike.
The situation has escalated into a full-blown “humanitarian crisis” that has left the heavily trafficked area in ruins, Councilman Eric Bottcher wrote in a letter to Mayor Eric Adams requesting help.
“Our neighborhoods need help right now,” he said. “We cannot allow the status quo to continue.”
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