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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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Woman Injured Resisting Bathroom Mugging in LaGuardia Airport, Police Say

By  Anton K. Nilsson and Aidan Gardiner | December 2, 2015 2:09pm 

 The woman suffered a cut to her stomach and some bruising in the airport attack, officials said.
The woman suffered a cut to her stomach and some bruising in the airport attack, officials said.
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DNAinfo/Anton K. Nilsson

EAST ELMHURST — A woman getting ready to catch a flight was injured while resisting a mugging in the women's bathroom at La Guardia airport Wednesday morning, officials said.

The 20-year-old woman, whose name was not released, told investigators she was headed to her gate for a Florida-bound American Airlines flight when she stopped in the restroom in the Central Terminal outside the security area about 10:50 a.m. she and Port Authority officials said

She was approached by another woman who tried to steal the victim's bag, sparking a scuffle, a Port Authority Police Department spokesman said.

During the fight, the victim was scratched in the stomach and sustained several bruises, officials said. She also had an injury to her lip.

Airport employees complained about lax security after the attack.

"I'm not surprised this happened. There is no protection," said Anthony Pascall, 60, who works driving shuttle buses between terminals.

"You never see Port Authority officers patrolling this area. That's the danger, anyone can walk in here. You don't know who you can trust," Pascall told DNAinfo.

An employee at a bookstore close to the Central Terminal restrooms said she was shocked after the attack.

"I've worked here for years and I've never seen anyone get attacked in the bathrooms," the woman said.

"Which bathroom am I supposed to use now?"

As she was being wheeled on a stretcher to an awaiting ambulance Wednesday afternoon, the victim told reporters that she did not know her attacker, but Port Authority officials said she did.

The victim did not speak English and detectives used a Spanish translator to interview her, according to the PAPD.

The woman was treated at Forest Hills Hospital, officials said.

The suspect was described as a woman wearing all black. She fled the scene and was not immediately arrested, PAPD officials said.