Police are searching for a group of five men who allegedly beat a 66-year-old man while he was sleeping in front of an office building in Midtown earlier this month.
According to law enforcement sources, the incident occurred on Aug. 4 at around 1:22 a.m. The victim, who police said is from Staten Island, was sleeping in front of 1370 Broadway when the perps struck.
Without saying a word, the five young men began taking turns punching and kicking the victim throughout his body, police said. As if the continuous blows were not enough, at least one of the perps used a fire extinguisher to smash the victim across the head.
Police could not confirm if the suspects were already carrying the fire extinguisher or took it from a nearby location, or why the victim was sleeping in front of the building.
All the suspects fled on foot northbound on Broadway before officers from the Midtown South Precinct arrived. EMS responded and rushed the injured man to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in critical condition.
So far, no arrests have been made, but police on Wednesday released photos of each suspect. One of them is described as having a slim build and medium complexion. He was last seen wearing all black.
Two other suspects have slim builds and dark complexions, with one wearing a pullover mask, white T-shirt, black pants and black sneakers and the other in a black T-shirt, blue jeans and black-and-white sneakers.
The other two suspects at large are described as having medium builds, one with a medium complexion who was last seen wearing all black and carrying a book bag. The other suspect has a dark complexion and was last seen wearing a navy blue beanie, all-black clothing and black-and-white sneakers.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the incident or the perpetrators’ whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
