A crazed suspect punched a random nine-year-old girl in the face in New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
José Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was arrested Saturday after hitting the unidentified girl in the terminal’s dining room around 11:49 a.m., police said.
Zarzuela, a repeat offender recently released for a similar crime, allegedly approached the girl as she stood near her mother before punching her in the face without warning, according to MTA police.
The girl suffered pain and dizziness after the attack and was taken to NYU Langone-Tisch Hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery.
“It makes no sense that this man, who was recently released after being accused of randomly punching someone else and breaking their nose, is back in a public space where he can attacking other people, especially children,” MTA said. Communications Director Tim Minton told amNewYork Metro.
Jose Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was arrested Saturday after punching a nine-year-old girl in the face around 11:49 a.m. in the dining room of Grand Central Terminal, police said.
Zarzuela is seen wandering in surveillance footage outside a Shake Shack in the terminal’s dining area
The girl suffered pain and dizziness after the attack and was taken to NYU Langone-Tisch Hospital. She is expected to make a full recovery
After hitting the child, Zarzuela fled the scene before being found at the Lexington Avenue/125th Street station.
Surveillance footage captured Zarzuela near a Shake Shack in the food court, wandering around the station and running down the street after the attack.
He was arrested by NYPD Transit Bureau officers around 10:20 p.m. and told police he lived in a nearby homeless shelter.
He was seen in photos being escorted in handcuffs by MTA police detectives with multiple stains on his gray crew-neck sweatshirt.
He was wearing black pants and had a blank look on his face as officers took him out of Grand Central Terminal.
Zarzuela was charged with aggravated assault of a victim under the age of 11, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and attempted assault.
This was not Zarzuela’s first run-in with the law, as sources close to the investigation told amNew York Metro that he had been arrested eight other times.
After hitting the child, Zarzuela fled the scene before being found at the Lexington Avenue/125th Street station.
He was arrested by NYPD Transit Bureau officers around 10:20 p.m. and told police he lived in a nearby homeless shelter.
He was seen in photos being escorted away in handcuffs by MTA police detectives with multiple stains on his gray crew-neck sweatshirt.
On April 4, Zarzuela assaulted a 54-year-old woman at Grand Central Terminal near Lexington Avenue. A few days later he was released without bail
On April 4, Zarzuela assaulted a 54-year-old woman at Grand Central Terminal near Lexington Avenue, police said.
During that encounter, the suspect allegedly punched the woman in the face in a random attack and broke her nose, MTA police sources said.
He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, but his charge was later reduced to third-degree assault after his court appearance, records showed.
Prosecutors initially asked that he remain in jail on $10,000 bail, which was quickly lowered to $2,500.
According to court records, days after his hearing, Judge Laurie Peterson ordered him released without bail.
“Those responsible for the criminal justice system must learn from this episode before more innocent people become victims,” Minton said.
Last week, police released surveillance footage of a suspect allegedly hitting a 23-year-old woman on March 20 as she walked past a McDonald’s on 6th Avenue in Chelsea around 10 a.m.
This year alone, 465 felonious assaults have been reported in the Big Apple, according to crime statistics.
In recent weeks, several women have been randomly punched in the face by men, following a trend of seemingly isolated incidents of violence in the city.
Last week, police released surveillance footage of a suspect allegedly hitting a 23-year-old woman on March 20 as she walked past a McDonald’s on 6th Avenue in Chelsea around 10 a.m.
She was checked by medical professionals for a nose injury and filed a report with authorities the same day.
The suspect, a man wearing dark pants, a light T-shirt and what appears to be a light blue overcoat or unbuttoned shirt, was caught on a surveillance camera running after the attack .
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