Crazy suspect, 30, randomly punches nine-year-old girl in the face in NYC’s Grand Central Terminal
A crazed suspect randomly punched a nine-year-old girl in the face in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.
Jose Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was arrested Saturday after he punched the unidentified girl inside the terminal’s dining area around 11:49 a.m., police said.
Zarzuela, a repeat offender who was recently released for a similar crime, allegedly approached the girl as she stood near her mother before striking her in the face without warning, according to the MTA Police Department.
The girl suffered pain and dizziness after the attack and was taken to NYU Langone-Tisch Hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery.
“It makes no sense that this guy — who was recently released after being accused of randomly punching another and breaking the victim’s nose — should be back in a public space where he can attack others, especially children,” MTA Director of Communications Tim Minton said so amNewYork Metro.
Jose Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was arrested Saturday after he punched a nine-year-old girl in the face around 11:49 a.m. in the Grand Central Terminal dining area, police said.
Zarzuela is seen wandering in surveillance footage outside a Shake Shack in the terminal’s dining area
The girl suffered pain and dizziness after the attack and was taken to NYU Langone-Tisch Hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery
After he hit the child, Zarzuela fled the scene before being found at the Lexington Avenue/125th Street station.
Surveillance footage captured Zarzuela near a Shake Shack in the food court, wandering the station and running into the street after the attack.
He was arrested by NYPD Transit Bureau officers around 10:20 p.m. and told police he was staying at a nearby homeless shelter.
He was seen in photos being escorted in handcuffs by MTA Police Detectives with several stains on his gray crewneck sweatshirt.
He wore black pants and had a blank look on his face as officers led him out of Grand Central Terminal.
Zarzuela was charged with aggravated battery on a victim under 11, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and attempted assault.
This wasn’t Zarzuela’s first brush with the law, as sources close to the investigation told amNew York Metro that he was arrested eight other times.
After he hit the child, Zarzuela fled the scene before being found at the Lexington Avenue/125th Street station
He was arrested by NYPD Transit Bureau officers around 10:20 p.m. and told police he was staying at a nearby homeless shelter
He was seen in photos being escorted in handcuffs by MTA Police Detectives with several stains on his gray crewneck sweatshirt
On April 4, Zarzuela assaulted a 54-year-old woman at Grand Central Terminal near Lexington Avenue. Days later, he was released from custody without bail
On April 4, Zarzuela assaulted a 54-year-old woman at Grand Central Terminal near Lexington Avenue, police said.
During the encounter, the suspect allegedly punched the woman in the face in a random attack, breaking her nose, MTA police sources said.
He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, but his charge was later reduced to third-degree assault after he appeared in court, records revealed.
Prosecutors initially requested that he remain in jail on $10,000 bail, which was soon lowered to $2,500.
According to court records, Judge Laurie Peterson, days after his hearing, ordered that he be released from custody without bail.
“Those responsible for the criminal justice system must learn from this episode before more innocent people become victims,” Minton said.
Last week, police released surveillance footage of a suspect who allegedly struck a 23-year-old woman on March 20 as she walked past a McDonald’s on 6th Avenue in Chelsea around 10 p.m.
This year alone, there have been 465 reported crimes in the Big Apple, according to crime statistics.
In recent weeks, several women have been randomly punched in the face by men, following a trend line of seemingly isolated incidents of violence in the city.
Last week, police released surveillance footage of a suspect who allegedly struck a 23-year-old woman on March 20 as she walked by a McDonald’s on 6th Avenue in Chelsea around 10 p.m.
She was inspected by doctors for a nose injury and filed a report with the authorities the same day.
The suspect, a man wearing dark pants, a light-colored T-shirt and what appears to be a light blue overcoat or unbuttoned shirt, was caught on surveillance camera jogging away after the attack.