A 65-year-old grandmother pushing her grandchild in a stroller was punched in the face by a stranger in broad daylight near Kissena Boulevard and Franklin Avenue in Flushing, Queens, around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday. The attacker said nothing before striking her and then fled on foot, authorities say, and has not been caught.
Victim Rushed to Hospital With Facial Injuries
According to the New York Post, the woman suffered facial pain, redness and swelling after being struck, and was transported by EMS in stable condition to New York-Presbyterian Queens. Police described the attack as unprovoked, with the attacker approaching and punching the grandmother in the face without speaking, then fleeing southbound on Kissena Boulevard. The outlet's report, citing police, says the suspect remains at large.
A separate account from abc7ny.com describes a woman punched in the face and knocked to the ground near 31st Drive and 140th Street on a Wednesday afternoon, identifying the victim as 74 years old. That report does not specify a calendar date, and it is not established whether it describes the same incident reported near Kissena Boulevard and Franklin Avenue — the two accounts differ on both the victim's age and the location of the attack.
NYPD Releases Suspect Photos, Seeks Tips
The NYPD has released photos of the suspect, described as bearded and wearing a hoodie, and is asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish speakers, submit a tip online, or contact @NYPDTips. The New York Post credited the NYPD as the source of the surveillance images.
Part of a Pattern of Random Street Attacks in Queens
This is not the only recent case of a senior being targeted in an apparently random street assault in the borough. In September 2025, a 74-year-old woman was allegedly punched in the face by a stranger while riding a bus on Main Street in Flushing, according to qns.com, which reported she was approached by a man near 42-08 Main St. at 4 a.m. before he struck her. The same outlet noted that the 109th Precinct had logged 283 felony assaults through Sept. 21, 2025, a 26.1 percent drop from the 383 reported over the same period the year before.
Other recent incidents have involved people pushing children in strollers specifically. In Queens, a man identified as Christopher Elder was arrested and charged after an alleged unprovoked attack on a 2-year-old girl in a stroller that left her needing stitches for wounds to her head and face, per NBC New York. On Manhattan's Upper East Side in September 2023, a 64-year-old woman was reportedly shoved to the ground on East 77th Street, as reported by Patch.
Similar Attack Caught on Video in California
A nearly identical scenario played out across the country in Calabasas, California, in December 2023, when a man in his 60s pushing his 10-month-old grandchild in a stroller was punched in the face on Lost Spring Road, overturning the stroller. KTLA reported that both the grandfather and the infant were reported okay, and that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department later arrested 29-year-old Angel Sanchez Jr. in Oxnard on a charge of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.
No arrest has been announced in the Flushing case, and the suspect remains unidentified as the NYPD continues to seek the public's help.
