On July 4, at around 9:20 p.m., an unidentified man approached a 21-year-old woman inside a commercial establishment near Fort Hamilton Parkway and 45th Street in Borough Park, wrapped his hands around her neck and applied pressure, causing her pain. He then ran off on foot, and more than a month later, investigators still haven't identified him.
NYPD Crime Stoppers renewed the public appeal this week, according to a bulletin from NYPD Crime Stoppers, which is offering up to $3,500 for an anonymous tip that leads to an arrest and indictment. Anyone with information is asked to send a direct message to @NYPDTips or call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), and tipsters receive a reference number so they can track their report while staying anonymous, according to the New York City Police Foundation.
Surveillance Images Show Suspect in Black Tank Top
As reported by News 12 Brooklyn, the attack unfolded inside the commercial establishment around 9:20 p.m. before the suspect ran off, and police have released surveillance images showing him wearing a black tank top and a black baseball cap. The outlet also reported that the victim declined medical treatment at the scene despite the difficulty breathing she experienced.
What Strangulation Charges Could Mean for the Suspect
If caught, the suspect could face strangulation in the second degree, a Class D violent felony under New York Penal Law § 121.12 covering anyone who intentionally impedes a person's normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the neck and causes physical injury or difficulty breathing, according to NY Laws. A conviction under the statute carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Lawmakers created the strangulation-specific statute in November 2010 after New York State court records showed that up to half of non-fatal strangulation cases leave no visible external injuries despite causing significant pain or respiratory distress, according to the New York State Unified Court System. Before that change, prosecutors could only pursue such cases as general assault, which required visible physical harm.
A Pattern of Violent Incidents Along Borough Park's Commercial Strip
The Fort Hamilton Parkway attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents along Borough Park's commercial corridors this summer. Six blocks north, a 22-year-old man was stabbed near 40th Street and 14th Avenue in a mid-July assault, and a 20-year-old man was slashed outside a business near New Utrecht Avenue in a June attack where the suspect, also dressed in black, fled on foot. In May, another man was stabbed near Fort Hamilton Parkway itself in an early-morning incident.
Crime Data Paints a Mixed Picture for the Precinct
Year-to-date figures show felony assaults in the 66th Precinct, which covers Borough Park, Kensington and Midwood, are actually down 6% compared to the same period last year — 125 recorded through August 2 versus 133 in 2025 — alongside 205 misdemeanor assaults, according to CompStat data from the NYPD.
The corridor where the attack happened is one of the busiest in the neighborhood. Borough Park's population density tops 57,000 residents per square mile, and commercial strips along New Utrecht Avenue, Fort Hamilton Parkway and 13th Avenue support more than 45,000 local jobs, per the NYC Department of Small Business Services.
The 66th Precinct, headquartered at 5822 16th Avenue, oversees an area home to more than 300 religious institutions, mostly Hasidic and Orthodox synagogues and yeshivas, according to the NYPD. The intersection where the strangulation occurred also sits near the Fort Hamilton Parkway subway station served by the D train, connecting Borough Park directly to Sunset Park and Manhattan, per the NYC Department of City Planning.
