"Say excuse me."
update 9/14/2021 3:09 PM
The woman who was brutally kicked down a New York subway escalator has revealed what exactly she said to prompt the viscous attack: "Say excuse me."
The 30-year-old student mom-of-one, speaking to the New York Daily News on condition of anonymity, said he was left looking like the victim of a tiger attack.
"I was coming home from school. I didn't run into this man. I did not have any prior engagement with him," she said.
The victim said she was nearing the top, when a man barged past her from behind.
"I said, 'Say excuse me.' Just those three words," she recalled. "And then I looked the other way. He aggressively responded, 'I did say excuse me.'"
He turned around, "And boom, he automatically kicked me in the chest. Oh my God, it was from the top of the escalator at Barclay Center all the way to the bottom."
"This was more than stairs. Escalators are spiky and moving. They're bigger and sharp," she added. "All over my body. I'm covered like I was clawed by a tiger."
Despite knowing she was badly hurt, she explained why she refused medical attention.
"I just didn't want to sit in an emergency room. I just wanted to go home to my 9-year-old, my family," she said. "I've been limping for days."
As for her attacker, she said: "I've never seen him before, and I hope he's never seen me before. And I hope I never see him again."
"I'm glad my 9-year-old son wasn’t there," she added. "You could see he was an aggressive and abusive person. He was pushing other people on the escalator."
Police are still hunting for the suspect.
update 9/13/2021 11:31 AM
NYPD are on the hunt for a man who was filmed kicking a woman down an escalator in a brutal attack at the subway.
The horrendous assault occurred on Thursday evening at Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center Station in Brooklyn. Security video shows the suspect making his way up the escalator past the woman, when he suddenly stops near the top, turns around, and appears to address her.
🚨WANTED for ASSAULT: Do you know this guy? On 9/9/21 at approx 7:15 PM, at the Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center Station in Brooklyn, the suspect kicked a 32-year-old woman in the chest, causing her to fall down the escalator. Any info? DM @NYPDTips, or anonymously call 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/j6yFToIlvU
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) September 13, 2021 @NYPDnews
One second later, he braces himself with both arms on the handrails and kicks the woman full force in the chest, sending her tumbling down the metal staircase all the way to the bottom.
He then turns back around and continues on up the escalator, as if nothing happened.
Police told USA Today the man and woman had "a verbal exchanged that escalated" before the attack. There's no audio on the footage. She suffered cuts and bruises to her back, arms and legs, and trauma to her left ankle, but refused medical attention at the scene, police said.
U.S. Marshals Arrest Ohio Man for On-Air Assault on NBC News Reporter
View StoryWhile Twitter was appalled by the attack, most people were equally sickened by the witness who stood just behind on the escalator -- a witness who not only didn't go back to check on the victim or help her, but appeared to physically move out of the way to allow her fall down the stairs.
That person behind her is just as bad as the guy who did it!!! How could she just continue on like that!?
— J. Dolby (@JDolby9) September 13, 2021 @JDolby9
So, that woman saw her get kicked, fall back and just continued up the escalator with barely a glance back?
— Lili Von Shtüpp 🇨🇦 (@NadiraStcyr) September 13, 2021 @NadiraStcyr
I love how the lady next to her watches just her fall without a care. Aw yeah, kindness!!
— Laura Cooper Baird (@lcooper_baird) September 13, 2021 @lcooper_baird
The woman who saw her fall is just as gross and the animal who kicked her
— Sara Chana IBCLC RH (@SaraChanaS) September 13, 2021 @SaraChanaS
You should also look for the woman that didn't help her... She needs to be ashamed.
— Al (@AlLouigi) September 13, 2021 @AlLouigi
This is very upsetting. Both the assailant and the witness should be detained and charged. One for a savage assault and the other for the sheer lack of humanity.
— Erasma Beras-Monticciolo (@ErasmaPower2) September 13, 2021 @ErasmaPower2
Police meanwhile have asked for any information to track down the suspect, who they say is wanted for Assault.