A shirtless assailant bludgeoned an R train rider with a chair and a scooter at an Elmhurst subway station him on the night of Saturday, Oct. 21, according to authorities.
Police from the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst and Transit District 20 are looking for a young man who approached a 53-year-old man as he was waiting on the northbound platform at the Grand Ave-Newton subway station just after 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 21. The victim began to argue with the shirtless stranger and it quickly escalated to physical violence when the suspect smashed the rider numerous times in his head with a chair and scooter before running out of the station and onto Queens Boulevard to parts unknown, police said.
An NYPD spokesman could not explain where the suspect found a chair on the subway station platform.
The victim was transported by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital Center where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Oct. 24 and described him as having a medium complexion. he is approximately 5 feet, 8 inches tall and was last seen shirtless wearing a black backpack, navy blue pants and white sneakers.
A reward of up to $3,500 for information that leads to his arrest in the assault investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The 110th Precinct has reported 609 felony assaults so far in 2023, 173 more than the 436 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 39.7%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
