A Sunnyside community is outraged and looking for justice after an 81-year-old legally blind man was brutally punched and robbed inside a bank during broad daylight.
On Oct. 26 at about 9:23 a.m., William Eichhorn was approached by two suspects after he withdrew money from an ATM at the Chase bank at 46-10 Queens Blvd. The suspects, described as two heavy-set black men in their 20s to 30s, “brutally punched” Eichhorn in the face and stole $100 in cash and a debit card before fleeing the scene, authorities said.
The surrounding community, Eichhorn’s family and local officials are now asking for the public’s help in identifying and catching the suspects.
“This community is united in making sure we catch these two vicious criminals and lock them behind bars because if they would dare to attack Mr. Eichhorn in broad daylight in this bank and knock him to the ground, in a crime that could have been much worse than it was, they would do this to anybody,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer in front of the Chase bank after he helped the 108th Precinct hand out flyers with surveillance photos of the suspects.
According to police, surveillance footage shows the suspects following Eichhorn inside the bank that Sunday morning.
“I had a wonderful life here before this event and I hope to continue to have one in the future, and I hope we don’t have any more incidents like this,” said Eichhorn, who has frequented the bank without any issues in the past.
According to family members, after Eichhorn was attacked, an unidentified “good Samaritan” heard his cries for help and came to his aid, calling 911 and escorting him to the precinct.
“What is important to note is that this is a racially diverse community, it’s a community that is just a community of good people that stand by one another and this is not something that normally happens here and the entire community is outraged,” said MaryAnn Gasparro, Eichhorn’s daughter.
Police are offering a reward of up to $2,000 for any information leading to the arrests of the suspects. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
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