Teen slashed in the face in Whitestone, Queens, by man in surgical mask, NYPD says

A teen girl was slashed in the face with a box cutter Wednesday by a man wearing a surgical mask and gloves, police said.

Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said the 16-year-old girl was walking to school on East 13th Avenue near 147th Street in Whitestone at 8:20 a.m. when she was attacked from behind.

The victim was slashed twice, including once from her ear to the middle of her throat, Boyce said.

“Once he slashed her, he ran off,” Boyce said. “It’s very disturbing.”

The teen was taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where she went into surgery. Her injuries are not life-threatening, Boyce said.

Boyce said that the victim is a foreign exchange student from China who has been in the U.S. for eight months. Her siblings were at the hospital with her, he said.