An Italian vacationer who was slashed by a crazed lady in an unprovoked Midtown assault mentioned he initially thought she had punched him — till he noticed the blood.
Paolo Rech, an assistant professor of engineering at Universita di Trento, advised The Submit he was strolling alongside Madison Avenue round 10:40 a.m. Saturday when he noticed the lady staring bizarrely at an indication promoting for telephone charging areas.
“I noticed her and I used to be passing behind her and she or he jut turned shortly and snapped at me with the knife,” Rech mentioned on Sunday. “At first I believed she was simply attempting to punch me. I held up my hand to dam and she or he hit my hand.
“She didn’t say something and she or he instantly turned and began to stare on the signal once more,” he mentioned. “I began to stroll away after which I may see a really deep lower in my hand.”
Rech described the weapon as “a traditional knife with a white plastic deal with.”
He noticed cops close by and approached them for assist — whereas his deranged attacker walked away. She remained on the unfastened on Sunday, in line with police.
The Submit obtained a surveillance picture of the lady, who’s described in her 30s and about 5-foot-7, and was sporting a blue jacket, a purple sweater and black pants.
In the meantime, Rech mentioned the harrowing expertise hasn’t soured him on the Massive Apple within the least — nevertheless it has modified his thoughts about New York’s Best.
“I’m not afraid right here,” he mentioned. “It may occur wherever. I’m not feeling any roughly secure.
“If there’s one factor I may say, as a foreigner, I used to be involved with speaking to the police,” he mentioned. “When my hand was bleeding and I noticed the police automobile on the road I had some considerations, however I used to be bleeding.
“They had been so sort, they had been so useful. As a foreigner you’re afraid to speak to the police or to ask for assist,” he added. “However seeing how sort and the way useful they had been I’d inform different vacationers don’t be fearful of the police. Don’t be fearful of the ambulances, of the hospitals right here.”
Extra reporting by Larry Celona
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