VIDEO: Cops seek help finding Bensonhurst assault suspect

Attacker targeted 2 women on 18th Ave. within minutes

March 29, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The suspect pictured in this image from a security video attacked two females within two blocks of each other on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst on the morning of March 23, according to police. Photo courtesy of New York Police Department

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Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect who attacked women on 18th Avenue in Bensonhurst in two bizarre incidents that have left the neighborhood in shock.

The suspect threw one of his victims to the ground and exposed himself to the other victim in incidents that took place minutes apart on the morning of March 23.

NYPD released a photo and a surveillance video of the suspect, who is still on the loose.

The suspect first struck at 7:10 a.m. in front of 7714 77th St., according to an NYPD spokesperson, who said he approached a 17-year-old female who was walking in the opposite direction, put his arms around her and forcibly threw her to the ground.

The attacker fled the scene. The victim refused medical attention, police said.

Five minutes later, the suspect struck again, this time approaching a 31-year-old woman as the victim was standing at a bus stop at 7:15 a.m. near the northeast corner of 18th Avenue and 79th Street.

The suspect pulled down his pants, police said. When the victim walked away, the suspect followed her, pulled down his pants and exposed his genitals, police said. He then punched the woman in the face and fled.

The victim suffered a laceration to her lip but refused medical attention, police said.

“It’s really scary to think that something like that could happen here. I’ve always felt safe in this neighborhood. But now I’m worried,” a woman named Stacy told the Brooklyn Eagle on Thursday morning as she waited for a B8 bus at the same stop where the second victim was assaulted. Stacy asked that her last name not be published.

In the days after the two attacks, the Guardian Angels, the civilian patrol group, posted flyers on bus stop shelters and on streetlight poles at several locations on 18th Avenue to warn residents about the suspect.

The attacker is described by police as a black male, 30 to 40 years old, 5-foot-9, 200 pounds, with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black hooded waist length jacket, black jeans, black sneakers, black skull cap and carrying a plastic bag.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips to police by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers..com, or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Police said all calls will be kept confidential.