MANHATTAN — A German tourist was groped, robbed and brutally beaten when she tried to stop a mugger Thursday in the second sexual assault to occur within blocks over the past week-and-a-half, NYPD officials said.
In the Thursday attack, which can be seen on surveillance video released Friday, a 31-year-old German tourist was returning to where she was staying and passed by 219 W. 146th St., near Frederick Douglas Boulevard, about 2:50 a.m. when she was attacked, police said.
The mugger wrapped his arms around her and groped her before grabbing her purse, the vide shows.
When she tried to take her purse back, the suspect punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground, where he continued to pummel her.
WARNING: Graphic Video
The woman was treated at an area hospital for injuries to her face, police said. She's listed in stable condition, police said.
The Thursday attack comes on the heels of another just four blocks away in which a man pretended he had a gun and took a 35-year-old woman's purse, police said. The suspect repeatedly punched her in the face and stuck his hand down her pants about 4 a.m. on April 24 near West 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, police said.
The woman was treated at Harlem Hospital, police said.
The suspect fled, but was spotted on security footage wearing a green sweatsuit, black hat and white sneakers, police said.
Neither suspect had been arrested as of Friday morning, and investigators are trying to determine if they're connected, police said.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).
