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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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Smiling Hammer-Wielding Mugger Suspected in 3 Attacks, Police Say

 A man was buying a MetroCard when a thief hit him with a hammer and demanded his money, police said.
A man was buying a MetroCard when a thief hit him with a hammer and demanded his money, police said.
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NYPD

QUEENS — A smirking mugger who hit a man in the head with a silver hammer when he was buying a MetroCard in a Bedford-Stuyvesant subway station Wednesday morning is suspected in two similar attacks, police said.

In the most recent incident, a 32-year-old victim was at a MetroCard vending machine inside the Rockaway Avenue C train station, at Fulton Street, about 9:20 a.m., when the suspect allegedly came up from behind and hit him in the head with the hammer.

The man fell to the ground and the suspect, who can be seen grinning in one of the surveillance photos, demanded he gave him the money, the NYPD said.

The mugger ran off once the victim gave him an undetermined amount of money, the NYPD said.

The victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital and treated for a head injury, the NYPD said.

Police said Thursday that the hammer-wielding mugger is also suspected in two similar attacks.

Last Sunday, a 23-year-old man was buying a MetroCard at the same train station around 11 a.m. when the suspect hit him in the back of the head with a hammer, police said.

It was not immediately clear if the suspect stole anything from the man.

A third incident took place about two months ago in the Briarwood section of Queens.

Despite the distance between the attacks, police suspect the same person committed the muggings, because the attacks are very similar.

On March 5, the suspect attacked a 26-year-old pregnant woman who was walking to the subway, hitting her from behind in the head with a silver hammer and running away with her purse, police said.

The victim was attacked at 7 a.m. at the corner of Pershing Crescent and Manton Street, one block away from Queens Boulevard.

Police said the man grabbed her handbag, containing three credit cards, an iPhone and a MetroCard, and fled.

The victim suffered a bruise to the back of the head as well as her forehead and was taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition, the NYPD said.

Police described the suspect as being about 5-foot-10 and between 130 and 150 pounds, police said.

Anyone with information about the attacks or the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-577-TIPS or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.