A bizarre attack occurred this week in South Street Seaport, where a stranger yelled at a 67-year-old man indiscriminately and then pepper-sprayed him, police said.
Police said the assailant approached the victim around 10:20 a.m. March 18 on Front Street near Beekman Street, just outside the Seaport Museum, and began yelling at her.
It’s unclear what the attacker was angry about, but authorities said he pulled out an “unknown substance” that appeared to be pepper spray and sprayed it in the victim’s face.
The victim experienced pain and burning in his face and was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
Video released by the NYPD late Tuesday shows the attacker, who is still at large, strolling down the sidewalk.
He is described as approximately 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-11 tall, with a dark complexion and a stocky build, and a salt-and-pepper beard.
In a similar recent attack, career criminal Emmanuel Sorcio, 57, attacked Mace, an NYPD police officer, after he caught him red-handed trying to beat a subway fare in the emergency exit of an East Harlem subway station. Police said he shot someone.
Also in March, Larry Martin, 42, allegedly threw boiling water at three women and a man during a terrifying 90-minute morning spree in Midtown.
