A restaurant patron who became enraged that someone else wanted to use the restroom he was occupying allegedly assaulted a fellow diner on Staten Island earlier this month.
The attack occurred on February 11th, around 11 p.m., according to the NYPD, who say that the 60-year-old male victim was "punched... in his body and face while inside Max's ES-CA Restaurant, located at 1559 Richmond Road" by two unidentified men.
According to the Post, the victim, identified as Richard Pucciarelli, knocked on the bathroom door. However, the Daily News reports that he "jiggled a bathroom door to try to get [the person inside] to hurry up."
When the bathroom occupant emerged, he and another man allegedly started to attack Pucciarelli. Pucciarelli was treated for lacerations and bruising to his face at a nearby hospital.
Police released surveillance images of the suspects, who are described as being in their 30s or 40s.
A manager told the News, "I’m not even really sure what to say because it was a little bit crazy, and a little unorthodox. This isn’t a place where there typically are fights. We don’t have bouncers and security because this isn’t that type of place." It's unclear whether Pucciarelli knew either of the men, according to the Post.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident 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 at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
