Surveillance video obtained by News 12 shows a man attacking a woman inside of a Bedford Park bodega.
Robert Nuñez, a bodega employee, said it all started around 10 a.m. on Sunday when a customer told him that a man was following her and the child she was with.
“Can you hide me?” Nuñez said the woman asked. “I put her [in the kitchen]. I moved her there as the guy was coming.”
Nuñez said he let the woman and child behind the counter for safety, but the man followed. The video shows the attacker punching the woman repeatedly in the head.
When Nuñez jumped in to grab the man, he said the attacker told him to leave him alone and then threatened to stab Nuñez with a knife that was in his pocket.
The video shows the bodega worker backed off, but the attacker went back for more and hit the woman again.
“I [was thinking] I got to help her,” Nuñez said. “Of course, this is one lady. I got to help her, but the guy’s coming with his knife. I don’t have nothing in my hands.”
Nuñez said the man left the bodega and walked down Valentine Avenue. That’s where police said the attacker stabbed a 31-year-old man in the abdomen.
That victim was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition as of Sunday night.
One woman, who asked not to be identified, said she was jogging by when she saw first responders on the scene. She told News 12 that the chaos near the convenience store has her fearing for her own life.
“It’s shocking," the woman said. "It’s disturbing. It makes me think twice about going outside now to just go to the grocery store. I have to look over my shoulder and be more alert, especially as a single parent in this community.”
No charges had been filed as of Sunday night.
Police said they're searching for a man who is about 5’6” and was last seen wearing a black baseball hat and black sweatshirt.