West Village Straphangers Scare Off Subway Attacker: NYPD

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A group of good Samaritans scared off a would-be subway robber in the midst of beating an elderly man, police said.

An 82-year-old man was trying to enter the West Fourth Street station turnstile on Oct. 28 just after 3 p.m. when a man pushed him back through the turnstile, knocked him to the ground — causing his bags of groceries to spill across the station entrance — and punched him in the face, a police spokesman said.

The crook tried to keep the senior pressed against the ground as he attempted to rummage through the man's pockets, but a group of straphangers crowded around the men and shouted at the brute to back off, the police spokesman said.

The man bolted when a brave New Yorker tried to grab him, according to police.

Photos courtesy of the NYPD

Medics took the rattled senior to Lenox Hill Hospital where he is listed in stable condition, authorities said.

Police have released surveillance footage stills of the subway attacker.

Officials describe him as 30 to 40-years-old, five-foot-eleven to six-feet tall and say he was last seen wearing a black knit cap and a burgundy coat.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Lead photo courtesy of Chris Hondros/Getty Images