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Jezebel Editor Punched in Head on Williamsburg Street, Police Say

By Serena Dai | April 27, 2015 2:25pm
 Erin Gloria Ryan was punched in an apparently randoom attack on a Williamsburg street.
Jezebel Editor Attacked on Street
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WILLIAMSBURG — A top editor at popular website Jezebel was punched in the head and hospitalized in an apparently random assault last week — leaving even the assailant's friend confused as to why she slugged her, police and the victim said.

Jezebel managing editor Erin Gloria Ryan, 31, who lives in Williamsburg, was walking on North Sixth Street near Berry Street on Friday around 10:40 p.m. when a woman walked up and punched her in the forehead without saying a word, Ryan and police said.

The punch was enough to snap Ryan's neck back, causing swelling above her left eye and requiring an ambulance trip to Bellevue Hospital, she and police said. 

The attacker, Mariah Correa, 20, stayed at the scene and was charged with assault, police said. Authorities had no further information about Correa.

The seemingly unprovoked punch also surprised Correa's friend, who asked her why she did it following the violent outburst, Ryan explained. 

Ryan, who said she was still suffering from slight headaches and fuzziness on Monday, described the whole incident on such a busy corridor as "bizarre."

The editor was headed to the L train by herself with headphones on when she saw Correa and her friend, Ryan said. Correa seemed "really agitated" and "angry," and her friend looked like she was trying to calm her down, she added.

Ryan didn't think anything of it, but when she came closer to the pair, Correa suddenly swung at her.

"I was totally shocked by it," Ryan said, noting that Correa didn't try to take anything from her. "Neither of them said a word to me."

Ryan continued walking and overheard Correa's friend asking why she had done it. As Ryan turned around and saw them again, she decided to call police.

Correa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Correa's friend who was with her at the time told DNAinfo New York that the entire thing was an "accident" and that the punch occurred after the friend and Correa had a disagreement.

The friend, Tayler, 21, said Correa was angry at her and started "moving her hands" as Ryan walked by.

"She was just walking by at the wrong time," said Tayler, who didn't want her last name used.

However, Ryan called Tayler's claims "complete and utter bull---t," saying that if the two had explained it was an accident, she would have accepted an apology and moved on.

The most shocking part for Ryan was that the incident happened in such a highly trafficked area, she said.

"I just burst into tears," Ryan said. "My brain could not process what had just happened. There’s nothing I could have done. It was so weird."