A 68-year-old woman is in critical condition after being pummeled and thrown down the stairs of a Queens church during a violent robbery captured on security footage, according to the NYPD.
Around 8:20 a.m., the victim was walking up to the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church entrance on 152nd Street in Briarwood when the much younger attacker hit, according to police and Father Konstantinos Kalogridis, the priest of the church.
Then, according to police, the suspect stole her handbag, which included $300, a phone, a credit card, and her auto keys. Authorities said the woman was brought to Booth Memorial Hospital.
According to Kalogridis, the victim is now conscious and recovering. “I visited her yesterday at the hospital. She was alert. She was conscious. I gave her, you know, a blessing, gave her holy communion and gave her a little prayer and an icon,” he said.
The suspect, according to police, is around 5’8″ and between the ages of 18 and 25. When last seen, he was wearing a black face mask, black jeans, black jacket, red hooded sweatshirt, and black Jordans with red accents.
“I could not believe my eyes. Seeing what he did to this lady,” Kalogridis said of the suspect. “She was coming to church to pray, to participate. I don’t know what kind of a person this is but evil. Pure evil.”
Anyone with information on the crime can call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
