Spate of robberies hit NYC, crime rates spikes.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A freelance writer who retreated to Central Park in New York City in order to find some solitude amidst the bustling city instead found herself being mugged in broad daylight, according to the New York Daily News.
The 26-year-old woman was punched in the face during the robbery in Central Park Wednesday, police said. The incident took place at 11 a.m. at 102nd Street and the West Drive of the park, according to CBS New York.
“I looked at him when he was walking … I thought this could be a very dangerous situation,” the woman told the New York Daily News. “When he started screaming ‘Give me your purse’ and punching me in the face the first thing I thing I thought was, ‘So this is what it’s like to be beat up.’”
The suspect, who was described only as being 35-40 years old and 6 feet in height, made off with $1.60 and two credit cards, both of which were expediently cancelled.
“I was writing a story on silence, what the noise of the city does to us, and where to find silence,” said the writer, who was recovering at home Thursday. The woman, who is working on a journalism degree from New York University, suffered a black eye, bruising, and possibly a broken wrist, she said.
Robberies inside the park, which is policed by its own NYPD precinct, have nearly doubled so far this year compared with 2014, jumping from eight to 15 as of July 12, according to NYPD data.