Crime & Safety
Woman Fights Off Bear-Hugging Mugger At 96th Street Station: Cops
Cops are looking for a man who "bear hugged" a woman from behind and then punched her multiple times in the face as he tried to rob her.
UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — A woman was able to fight off a bear-hugging mugger at the 96th Street station on Thursday, but not before he punched her multiple times in the face, police said.
The man came up behind the 33-year-old woman as she was leaving the subway station just after 1 a.m. and "bear hugged" her from behind on the stairs, police said.
The woman fought the man off as he demanded money. Eventually, he punched her several times in the face before running away empty-handed, police said.
Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Emergency responders treated the woman at the station for a laceration to her lip and bruising on the side of her face, police said.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this male is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
Find out what's happening in Upper West Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
