Elderly woman critically hurt after being punched down Queens church steps by mugger

Roni Jacobson, Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News
Updated ·2 min read
81

A 68-year-old woman was critically injured when a mugger punched her down the steps of her Queens church as she headed into services, police said Monday.

The crook was walking behind the victim when she headed up the steps to St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Briarwood about 8:20 a.m. Sunday, cops said. The holy site has a service that begins at 8:30 a.m.

Video viewed by the Daily News shows the man creeping up behind her and quickly climbing the steps next to her.

He got in front of the woman and punched her in the face, sending her tumbling back down the stairs on 152nd St. near 84th Drive.

The robber snatched the woman’s purse, which contained $300 and her cell phone, credit cards and car keys, before driving off in her 2006 Nissan Altima. He has not been caught.

The woman is a member of the church and was on her way into services when the robber targeted her, according to Father Konstantinos Kalogridis, head priest at the church.

“He must have spotted her earlier,” he told The News. “He took her keys, her wallet, her phone, everything.”

Medics rushed the victim in critical condition to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens.

“Thank God she is stable,” Kalogridis said. “I saw her yesterday in the hospital. She was alert, she was conscious. You could see she was in pain.”

“Everyone is shocked that this happened here, on the church steps,” he added.

On Monday, the NYPD released surveillance footage of the suspect, who was wearing a black surgical mask and a red hoodie under a black jacket, and asked the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.

Kalogridis said after the incident, he spoke with NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who told the priest that police would be stationed outside the church every Sunday in light of the attack.

“We are hoping and praying that she will come out of this strong and fully recovered,” said Kalogridis, who urged the attacker to turn himself in to police. “Her faith is strong.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Misdemeanor assaults are up 7% in the city so far this year compared to the same time period last year and felony assaults are up 3%.