Another unsuspecting victim in the New York City subway attack. But the elderly woman targeted by a group of four teenagers last week wasn't giving up without a fight.
Linda Rosa, 71, a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employee, was attacked by a group of would-be robbers on her way to a church service on New Year's Day. sued She was at Hoyt Street Station in Brooklyn. new york post It was reported on Friday.
One of the teens, all women, first reached to grab Rosa's wallet, she told the outlet.
“And I [said to myself]”Oh, no, that's not going to happen today,” the woman said.
Another teenage boy then lunges at Rosa's bag and asks, “Oh, you want to fight?”
Even after hearing the threat, Rosa refused to give up her belongings and was assaulted.
“The first one kept fighting,” she recalled. “She hit me in the face and I'm wearing glasses and I have a cut on my nose. When she hit me in the face, my glasses flew to the floor.”
“All the while, the other young woman was trying to distract me, trying to take out my notebook, trying to reach into my wallet and snatching something from my wallet,” Rosa said.
One of the girls was able to grab a pocket pouch containing the victim's ID and medical records before Rosa fell to the floor.
“I was still wrestling with the first one,” Rosa explained. “Then I tried to kick her between the legs and I think my legs didn't extend far enough and that's when I fell. I fell and she stepped on me.”
That was the defining moment when the 42-year MTA veteran knew he had to fight back with all his might.
“I had the impression that she was going to step on me again, but she was going for my head,” she said. post. “So I quickly stood up and grabbed her braid and put it in my right hand and pulled her down. She had her head down.”
When one of the other teens asked Rosa to release her accomplice, she recalled saying, “Oh, no, I'm not letting her go.”
Then, the boy grabbed her pocket pouch, threw what he had stolen on the ground, and rushed towards Rosa.
“So out of nowhere I grabbed her hair and wrapped it around my left hand,” the tough woman explained. “That's why I turned them both face down…”[like] They ram into each other as they prepare for battle. ”
Rosa screamed for help as the other girls yelled, “Let me go!”
After a few minutes she finally freed both girls' hair and the four teens escaped.
Rosa gathered her belongings, which had been thrown aside, and made her way to the nearby Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, where staff called the police.
Rosa was then taken to Brooklyn Hospital Center for treatment and thanked God she did not sustain any major injuries.
“Thank God they didn't have weapons,” she told the media. “Thank God I didn’t have a heart attack or stroke and die!”
Even though she says she is “forgiving” the girls because “they don't know what they're doing,” the NYPD is confident the suspects will be arrested. Security footage has been released showing the passengers passing through the station's ticket gates in anticipation.
“They don't know what they've done. It's just teenagers doing stupid things,” Rosa said, adding that being targeted by crime is common in New York City. He added that it was happening.
“It can happen to anyone. We are now witnessing elderly people being attacked. Anywhere – it can happen anywhere, at any station. You could be walking down the street. You might be crossing the street.”
The incident could have ended in tragedy, similar to several recent incidents on the city's subways. burnt to death A man is left in critical condition after being brutally assaulted in a horrific arson attack allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant. pushed away in front of an oncoming train.
Despite these recent events, New York City MTA Chairman Jano Lieber said in a recent interview with NBC that “we've made a lot of progress numerically” when it comes to subway safety and crime. Overall, “it's a safe place, but we are,” he said. We must stand up against this disorder and against those who commit these serious and high-profile crimes. ”
