Cops are looking for a suspect who punched a bus driver who tried to enforce the mandatory mask policy in Manhattan.
According to police, at 2:30 a.m. on July 20, an unknown man tried to get on a northbound M2 MTA bus in the vicinity of Madison Avenue and East 29th Street without a mandatory face covering. When he was stopped by the 62-year-old bus driver, the suspect punched the driver in the face.
The suspect then fled the bus in an unknown direction. The victim suffered pain and swelling and was taken to NYU Langone Hospital in stable condition.
“This is a despicable attack on a hero moving this city during a pandemic and simply trying to protect the safety of all customers,” said NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg in a statement. “We are cooperating with the NYPD’s investigation and search for the perpetrator. We recently launched Operation Respect to make masks available for anyone who needs them, have deployed MTA security and staff safety volunteers to assist with mask distribution, and ask all New Yorkers to join in this effort to protect health and safety.”
On July 21, the NYPD released video of the suspect taken from inside the bus.
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of this male 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 or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
Updated at 2:40 p.m.
