Elderly Korean Woman Attacked In Forest Hills, Officials Say

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — An elderly Korean woman was tackled to the ground in a broad-daylight attack in Forest Hills last week, officials say.

An unknown man tackled the 75-year-old woman on the sidewalk outside 116-23 Queens Boulevard on Jan. 12 at about 1:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.

A video of the incident, reported by ABC7, shows the man running up behind the woman and plowing her down; without stopping, he steps over her body and continues to run down the street while she lays motionless on the sidewalk, the video shows.

Police confirmed that the man continued to run away after the attack, at which point EMS took the woman to a hospital for injuries on her face and neck.

The retired nurse told ABC News she feels "grateful to be alive" after the attack that left her with a bruised face and an eye swollen shut, a photo taken by the outlet shows.

“I am horrified and appalled by the unprovoked attack on an Asian-American senior citizen in our community,” Forest Hills' City Council Member Lynn Schulman said in a statement.

“My top priority will always be to ensure the safety of local residents, especially in a year when seniors and the Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community have been targeted," she said, alluding to a citywide spike in anti-Asian violence amid the pandemic.

The attack in Forest Hills came days before another Asian woman, Michelle Alyssa Go, was fatally pushed in front of a train at the Times Square-42nd Street subway station.

The NYPD did not respond to Patch's question as to whether or not the Forest Hills incident is being investigated as a hate crime. Other outlets, however, reported that it is not under investigation as a hate crime, in-part because no words were exchanged during the attack.

Police released a photo of the man who attacked the elderly woman, but as of Jan. 18 — nearly a week after the incident — the case remains under investigation and no arrests have been made, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked by police 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.