Video shows men attacking woman with baseball bat on New York City street

NEW YORK — Video shows two men who attacked a woman on a New York City street with a baseball bat.

It happened around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Lower Manhattan. Police are still searching for the suspects.

In the video, a woman walks along Monroe Street, taking her phone out of her bag. Then, two masked suspects emerge and start attacking her from behind. One punches her while the other hits her with a baseball bat five times. It appears they were trying to grab her bag, but ran off emptyhanded.

The victim’s family told CBS New York in a statement, “The shouts of passersby and the courageous intervention of community members scared off the perpetrator and prompted a timely call for help, averting potentially more severe consequences.”

Neighbor Jenny Yu says she saw the victim after it happened.

“Just got ambulance. I said, ‘How you feel?’ She said really hurt,” Yu said.

CBS New York’s Jenna DeAngelis was told the woman was leaving work and was just a few doors down when she was attacked.

She works at a day care, according to her sister, who spoke with DeAngelis there through a translator.

“She feel stressful and her body hurt,” the translator said.

She says the 58-year-old mother sustained bruises on her leg and head, both which are apparent in the video.

Her family says she is home recovering but now needs help with daily activities.

“Her sister feel very scared,” the translator said.

She says after this, the victim is afraid to come back to work.

“Now her sister feel uncomfortable. She hopes police can make society be peaceful,” the translator said.

In a statement, the family expressed gratitude for community members who scared off the attackers saying: “Our family is deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence, and we believe it is essential to share her story to raise awareness and seek justice.”

Police are still searching for the suspects.

Jenna DeAngelis

Jenna DeAngelis is an Emmy award winning journalist. She joined CBS2 News as a general assignment reporter in March 2018.