Police from the 114th Precinct are looking for a suspect who assaulted an elderly taxicab driver in the Ravenswood section of Long Island City on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Police say the 72- year-old victim was approaching 10th Street and 36th Avenue just after 6:45 p.m. when his passenger became unruly and began to argue with him. The verbal dispute escalated into violence when the perpetrator allegedly punched him in the back of the head, police said.
He ran off toward the Ravenswood Houses while the victim sustained minor injuries and was transported by EMS to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
The NYPD released a surveillance image of the suspect and described him as having a dark complexion with a heavy build, with a thick beard and thin mustache. He wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, headphones, and sunglasses at night.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding this attack is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Dec. 14, the 114th Precinct has reported 512 felony assaults so far this year, 48 fewer than the 560 reported at the same point in 2024, a decline of 8.6%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
