NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The search continues for men who assaulted a woman outside a Harlem liquor store, and now the community shows its support for the victim.
A large crowd of people spread across 128th Street in Harlem on Saturday night, many in front of a liquor store where a 31-year-old mother was brutally beaten on Monday.
The demonstration was the end of a rally that started three blocks away, when women, men and children were around the corner, speaking out against violence against the neighborhood.
“If we don’t do that, who is it? It is our responsibility, it is our duty to protect our women and children in our community, ”said Omar Jackson, director of Stand Against Violence East Harlem.
“It could have been me, my daughters, my mom, any woman,” Tamika Foster, East Harlem resident, told CBS2’s Cory James. “The community as a whole, we all need to be together.”
Earlier this week, Lisa Rozner of CBS2 spoke exclusively to the woman who was assaulted.
MORE – Exclusive: Woman brutally attacked at the Harlem liquor store says the suspect tried to take her eye out: ‘This is an animal. That’s not a person ‘
She says she was buying a bottle of wine at a liquor store when one of the men offered to pay, but she politely declined.
After checking out and leaving the store, the woman says the man and two other people chased her on the street and kicked her. One even bit her on the forehead.
Police say a woman was beaten and robbed by three people after an argument at a liquor store in Harlem on January 18, 2021. (Credit: NYPD Crime Stoppers)
“No matter how much I ask, you know, I am trying to reach my daughter, please leave me alone, I said I will call the police. He didn’t care about that. He had one thing in mind and it was to attack me. That’s what he wanted to do, ”said the victim to Rozner.
The victim’s family members attended Saturday’s demonstration in support of their cousin, who they said was still traumatized.
“People cannot think that they can do what they want. It doesn’t mean no, ”said cousin Laroya Smalls.
“No sense, no reason, she didn’t even know them,” said Cousin Sybil Smalls. “We need them to be caught. This is our main objective. “
The police hope that the surveillance footage will help this happen, so that the attacked woman can have justice and her sense of security restored.
“I definitely want to see him in jail, if not under arrest for what he did to me because I didn’t deserve it,” said the victim.
One of the defendants in the attack would also have stolen the victim’s iPhone.
Anyone who has information about this incident should call the NYPD Crime Detention Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to NYPDTips Twitter account or sent online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
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