A 32-year-old woman was beaten and robbed while walking along Central Park's East Drive near 90th Street Sunday evening, with police saying three unidentified attackers struck her repeatedly in the head before fleeing with her backpack. The attack happened around 9:45 p.m., and no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
According to PIX11, the NYPD is searching for multiple suspects following the violent robbery. Police say the three individuals hit the victim multiple times in the head before fleeing with her backpack. EMS responded to the scene, but the woman refused medical attention. The suspects were last seen fleeing toward Fifth Avenue, per the same account, and the investigation remains ongoing with no arrests reported so far.
Central Park has an entrance at 90th Street and Fifth Avenue, according to TripTins. Central Park is officially open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., per NYC Parks, meaning the attack occurred during regular operating hours rather than after the park had closed.
A Troubling Pattern Along East Drive
This is not the first violent incident reported along this stretch of the park in recent weeks. On September 17, four separate gunpoint robberies targeting six people occurred along East Drive within roughly an hour, with three men on bicycles stealing cellphones from parkgoers, according to West Side Rag. Just ten days later, a 63-year-old woman was found deceased with severe head trauma along East Drive near 74th Street, prompting a homicide investigation and murder charges against a suspect the same day, as reported by Global News. Hoodline previously covered that case in its report on the hidden gazebo homicide.
Earlier in the year, on August 24, NYPD officers launched an investigation after a 41-year-old woman was sexually assaulted around 3 a.m. near 59th Street and West Drive inside the park before the assailant fled, Hoodline reported at the time in its story on the 3 a.m. park attack. That uptick in criminal complaints prompted the NYPD to issue a public warning and add foot, mobile, and perimeter patrols to the park, according to Central Park News.
Who Patrols the Park's 58 Miles of Paths
Central Park's 843 interior acres and 58 miles of pedestrian paths fall under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's dedicated 22nd Precinct, also known as the Central Park Precinct, which is headquartered at the 86th Street Transverse, per the NYPD.
If the suspects responsible for Sunday's robbery are apprehended, they could face serious charges. Under New York Penal Law, forcibly stealing property while inflicting physical injury elevates an offense to Second-Degree Robbery, a Class C violent felony carrying up to 15 years in state prison, according to FindLaw.
How to Submit a Tip
Police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), through the Crime Stoppers website, or via the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app. Tips can also be sent by text to 274637 (CRIMES), followed by TIP577, and Spanish-speaking callers can reach Crime Stoppers at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The program offers cash rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment, as Hoodline has noted in its coverage of a Grand Central subway robbery.
