Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria are looking for a woman who allegedly strangled a 49-year-old female during an unprovoked attack at an Astoria subway station on the night of Tuesday, Jan 13.
The victim was leaving the 30th Avenue subway station at 9:45 p.m. when the assailant ran up behind her and shoved her without any previous interaction between them, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.
The suspect proceeded to punch and choke the victim, before shoving her to the ground and kicking her in the head, police said. The perpetrator ran off onto 31st Street and fled in an unknown direction. EMS responded to the crime scene and transported the victim to Mount Sinai Queens Hospital, just a couple of blocks away, where she was listed in stable condition and treated for minor injuries that she sustained in the unprovoked attack.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect on Wednesday and is asking for the public’s help in identifying her. She is described as having a dark complexion and was last seen wearing a black winter jacket with a fur-lined hood, a yellow sweatshirt and blue jeans.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to her arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding this random assault investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-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 strictly confidential.
Through Jan. 18, the 114th Precinct has reported 16 felony assaults so far in 2026, ten fewer that the 26 reported at the same point in 2025, a decline of 38.5%, according to the most recent CompStat report, Transit crimes are up in the precinct with two cases so far this year after none were reported at the same point last year, according to CompStat.
