Bed-Stuy woman hit in the face with a shoe, chased for blocks while walking home
Police say the attack happened outside the Sugarhill Supper Club around 6:30 p.m. But Veronica says the situation escalated moments later when she tried to flee.
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A Brooklyn woman is speaking out after what she describes as a terrifying and unprovoked assault that left her injured and afraid to walk through her own neighborhood.
The frightening encounter was captured in part on video, showing the woman running into a nearby pizza shop seeking safety after she says a man chased her for blocks. According to the victim, identified only as Veronica, the ordeal began when a stranger suddenly threw a shoe directly at her face near Nostrand and DeKalb avenues Thursday evening.
“He had it in his hand, ready to go. There was no interaction before. He just threw it in my face, picked it back up and kept walking,” Veronica said.
Police say the attack happened outside the Sugarhill Supper Club around 6:30 p.m. But Veronica says the situation escalated moments later when she tried to flee.
“Once I started running, he started running too, and like, it felt like he wanted to hurt me again and like, assault me again. I don't know what was going through his mind, but I just was just trying to get away,” she recalled.
Veronica says she ran into a nearby pizza shop to escape. Surveillance and cellphone video show the suspect allegedly attempting to follow her inside before employees intervened and chased him down Thompson Street.
The owner of the shop, Rocco’s Pizza, says his staff immediately stepped in to help.
“I'm happy she came here and felt safe at Rocco Pizza. She had our undivided attention and hopefully everything works out and we'll get to see her later and we'll find out what happened,” said Rocco, the restaurant’s owner.
The attack left Veronica with a cut above her eyebrow and broken glasses, but she says the emotional impact has been even harder to process.
“I'm a health care worker, and I just want to go to work and come home. Now, I'm scared to go for walks in my own neighborhood. I just hope that people can be on the lookout and like report him,” she said.
Police sources tell News 12 that they are still working to identify the suspect and have not yet released a description. The investigation remains ongoing.
