PROSPECT HEIGHTS — A baseball bat-wielding robber in search of high tech gadgets left a young woman bleeding just blocks from the Barclays Center early Saturday morning, police said.
The victim and a male companion were walking on St. Marks Avenue near Vanderbilt Avenue just after 2 a.m. Saturday when they were approached by the mugger, who slugged the woman over the head with a baseball bat before snatching an iPhone, iPad and other personal property.
"I was awoken by the screams — I went to the window and I could see her crouched down," said neighbor Jessica Bernhard, 27. "She was bleeding from the back of her head."
Witnesses said it took police almost 15 minutes to respond to the brutal mugging, which occurred in the swath of Prospect Heights that was transferred from Crown Heights' 77th Precinct to Park Slope's 78th Precinct last month with the opening of the Barclay's Center a few blocks away.
Surrounding precincts have seen a spike in smartphone thefts this fall, but a police source familiar with the area expressed shock that the mugging had turned bloody.
"It's a very calm area," the source said.
Police confirmed that the woman was taken to Kings County Hospital to be treated, but said they have not made any arrests in connection with the incident.
