A panhandler beat a 60-year-old East Village man in the head with a pipe that he carried around in his backpack, the police said on Saturday.
The suspect entered the Mee Noodle Shop & Grill First Ave. near E. 13th St. at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Friday and began asking people for money.
When an elderly man refused to give him anything, he reached into the backpack slung over his shoulder, pulled out a small pipe and hit the man over the head with it, police said.
The attacker then ran out of the restaurant, heading north along First Ave., police said.
The 60-year-old victim suffered a deep cut to the head, police said. EMS transported him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated and released.
It was not immediately clear if the victim worked at the store or was a customer.
Last month, on September 22, a man in an “X-Men” T-shirt carried a backpack hit a 68-year-old woman in the back with a metal object on E. 14th St. near First Ave. – just around the corner from the noodle shop.
The suspect ran and was still being sought by police. The woman he attacked refused medical attention at the scene.
It was not immediately clear if the two attacks were related. Officers scoured the area for surveillance footage that could help them identify the attacker in Friday’s attack.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime stopper at (800) 577-TIPS. All conversations will be kept confidential.
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