Woman Slashed In The Face While Waiting For Lyft In East Williamsburg, Police Search For Suspect
Feb. 5, 2019, 3:40 p.m.
Dana Sagona, a librarian at the New York Public Library, was waiting for a Lyft outside her friend's apartment when it happened.
The NYPD is searching for a man who attacked a woman waiting for a Lyft in Williamsburg on Sunday, slashing her face and robbing her in the process.
Dana Sagona, a librarian at the New York Public Library, was waiting for a car at White Street and Boerum Street at 7:45 a.m. when a man approached her. "He said I was pretty, then asked me if I was scared,” she told the Daily News. After Sagona told him she wasn't afraid, he grabbed her. He then slashed the left side of her face, right below her eye down to her jawbone, as she tried to get away. "When he took out the blade, he said he would kill me,” she told the tabloid.
Sagona had been at a friend's place, and was en route to Manhattan to volunteer with the cat rescue group Kitty Kind, as the Daily News reports.
Following the attack, Sagona told the New York Post she spotted an Uber on its way to pick up someone else, but that they weren't receptive as she tried to ask them for help. A man stepped out of his house nearby, then saw her and called the police. Sagona was taken to Woodhull Medical Center, then Long Island’s NYU Winthrop Hospital, where she was reportedly given 44 stitches.
The NYPD confirmed to Gothamist that the attacker took Sagona's bag, which contained her wallet, credit card, and cell phone. On Tuesday afternoon, the 90th Precinct Detective Squad, which is currently investigating the assault, released a photo of the suspect, culled from a security camera video near the intersection. In their tweet, they only announce that the man is wanted for robbery, and not assault.
Help us identify & locate this individual who is #Wanted for a Robbery that occurred on 2/3/19 at approximately 7:45am on the corner of Boerum St & White St. #YourCityYourCall Any info call #800577Tips All calls are confidential @NYPDDetectives @NYPDTips @NYPDnews @NYPDnoticias pic.twitter.com/BWmaU5RmTx
— NYPD 90th Precinct (@NYPD90Pct) February 4, 2019
Asked why the 90th precinct did not mention the slashing in their tweet about the suspect, an NYPD spokesperson said via email, "Robbery is a higher charge than an assault."
Update: The NYPD released the video of the suspect, described as a man in his 40s, on Tuesday night:
Anyone with information in regard 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 CrimeStoppers website, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
