Woman Kicked Down Stairs, Hit With Hammer In LIC Subway: Police

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A woman is in critical condition after a man kicked her down a staircase and hit her in the head with a hammer while robbing her at a Long Island City subway station on Thursday, according to police.

It happened around 11:22 p.m. at the Queens Plaza E/M/R station. The 57-year-old victim was walking down the staircase when an unidentified man attacked her from behind, police said.

Authorities shared the following video of the attack, which may be disturbing to some viewers:

The surveillance footage shows the man kicking the woman in the back, causing her to stumble down the staircase. At the base of the stairs, he strikes her repeatedly with the hammer as she crumples to the ground.

The man then walks back up the stairs, holding her purse and what appears to be a cane.

The woman suffered a fractured skull and lacerations to her head and was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Police described the suspect as a man wearing a black hooded coat, a black mask, blue jeans and black shoes, carrying a cane. They also released another suveillance image, seeming to show him near the scene of the attack.

Authorities asked anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.