A man walked up to a woman "without any provocation" and punched her several times in the face until she fell on the ground early Wednesday in Greenwich Village, police said in a release.
The woman, 23, was walking along Houston Street between Sullivan and MacDougal streets about 6:10 a.m. Wednesday when the man "aggressively" approached her, police said.
CBS2 reports that the punch knocked out one of her teeth. Police said that emergency medical personnel took her to Beth Israel Hospital for face and teeth injuries.
The woman, who has not been identified, told CBS2 she was walking to a workout class from the 1 train station at Houston and Varick. After crossing MacDougal Street, "I got pushed from the side and then attacked again and I was punched in the head," she told the station.
"Just still in shock, haven't really processed it," she said, noting that he seemed incoherent. "I tried to start running away and then while that happened I was pushed to the ground and then continued to be punched... He was very mentally unstable so it's a sad reality. Hopefully he'll be able to get the help that he needs."
UPDATE 12:30 p.m.: Officers arrested Eugene C. Webb, 26, and charged him with two counts of assault as well as harassment, the NYPD announced Thursday afternoon. Webb was listed as homeless, according to police.
Anyone with information in regard to these incidents 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 CrimeStoppers website, or on Twitter.
