An altercation aboard an R train that left a man unconscious and clinging to life may have been sparked by the victim's passion for his footwear. Relatives of Anthony Hamoui believe he confronted a fellow R train rider who stepped on his foot on Friday afternoon because Hamoui "loves his sneakers."
Police say that around 3:45 p.m., on a southbound R train in Brooklyn, a male passenger stepped on Hamoui's foot, and when Hamoui said something, the suspect punched him in the face. When Hamoui, 30, fell, the suspect continued to kick and punch him in the head and face, according to the NYPD.
The suspect fled at the 4th Avenue and 36th Street station and took a southbound D train.
"Hamoui was napping against his girlfriend’s shoulder aboard a southbound R train Friday afternoon when a fellow straphanger stepped on his spotless Nikes," according to a family member's account to the Daily News. The relative said, "He probably said something to the guy about watching where he was stepping" and "His girlfriend said (the assailant) was kicking him when he was down. Just kicking him over and over. And then she saw Anthony on the ground and he was blue — just lying there."
Apparently there were three nurses on the train who helped administer first aid to Hamoui before EMS arrived. But he remains unconscious and intubated at NYU Lutheran Medical Center's intensive care unit.
Police released an image of the suspect, describing him as 17-19 years old, 5'10" and 160 pounds, and last seen wearing a white T-shirt, black jeans, white sneakers, and a black book bag.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
