A man assaulted a woman with a hammer in Central Park early Monday after telling her “nobody’s going to find you here,” police said.
The 39-year-old woman was walking near 64th Street and Center Drive just after midnight when the man appeared and struck her in the back with a hammer, according to NYPD officials.
Police said the attack was unprovoked and the man fled on a moped in an unknown direction. The woman refused medical attention at the scene.
No arrests had been made as of Monday morning and the NYPD was still investigating, officials said.
The incident comes after a string of reported random attacks on women in Manhattan that have gone viral on social media and raised safety concerns.
Multiple women last week shared stories on TikTok about being assaulted by men they didn’t know while walking in the borough in March.
Police have identified a few suspects in connection with some of the attacks but did not say whether the incidents were related. They arrested one suspect, a 40-year-old man, on misdemeanor assault charges last Thursday.
NYPD data shows assaults in Central Park are trending down so far this year, though only a handful of incidents have been reported. Last month, a woman who was jogging in the park was sexually assaulted near West Drive by a man who was riding a scooter, CBS News reported.
Robberies in the park have increased significantly this year, according to the data. Ten incidents have been reported so far in 2024, compared with two during the same period last year.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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