An unknown man took a baseball bat from his pants and hit another man while walking on a sidewalk in New York City.
A surveillance camera caught the incident on video, and the police are now looking for the assailant seen hitting the unsuspecting man on the back of his head.
The New York City Police Department released the footage days after the attack on Tuesday, November 29, along Amsterdam Avenue in upper Manhattan. According to the police, the attack occurred in the morning at around 8 am.
The footage shows the victim, wearing a red jacket, casually walking down the street, and another man moving quickly and eventually catching up to him. The attacker circles around and pulls out a bright red baseball bat from his pants.
He then takes a few steps toward the victim and swings his baseball hat, hitting his victim squarely on the back of his head. The victim, a 47-year-old man, immediately falls to the ground and starts rolling around.
The assailant returns to his victim and starts yelling at the man rolling on the ground in pain. He then steps forward, suggesting he could hit the man a second time. He then walks away with the bat as he and the victim argue.
The attack seemed targeted, but according to the police, the victim and his assailant did not know each other before the attack and did not know why the attack happened.
The police have not made any arrests and are still investigating the incident. They released pictures of the assailant. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with a hood, and on the front of the sweatshirt was written “Nike.” He was also wearing black shoes and grey sweatpants.
The attack was one of the numerous unprovoked attacks in New York City last week as crime in the city takes an upward trajectory this year. The crimes like robbery, murder, and rape in the Big Apple have gone up 40% in 2022.
Last Friday, a 21-year-old hospital worker got burned in her face after an assailant threw an unknown substance at her during an attack on the subway in broad daylight at around 11 am.
The victim was walking up the stairs at the Winthrop Street subway station toward the exit when a woman threw the toxic substance at her.
Police released photos of the attacker, who they say is around 30 years and at least six feet tall.
The incident happened amid a huge surge in crimes around the city, especially in the subway system. Even though NYC Mayor Eric Adams has more police officers patrolling the subways, crime is still up.