UNION SQUARE — A man attacked a woman with a lighter in Union Square and laughed in her face when she confronted him — an incident police believe is connected to a string of similar attacks in Midtown, according to the NYPD.
The attack wasn't reported until Monday, but occurred on the same day, Sept. 10, a man used a cigarette lighter to ignite the clothes of a Scottish Muslim woman wearing a hijab, according to police.
In the Union Square case, the 31-year-old victim was walking through park just after 6:50 p.m., when the suspect came up behind her and held a lighter up to her left arm, a police spokesman said. When she whirled around to face him, he laughed and ran away, they said.
Police believe the attack was related to a group of men who attacked five other women with lighters on the same day, a spokesman said.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested on Sept. 16 in connection to one of the assaults, which occurred outside 127 W. 42nd Street, but no other suspects have been found although police believe several people were involved, according to a police report.
The teen was charged with attempted assault, aggravated harassment, and harassment, all of which were classified as hate crimes, according to a police report.
Investigation into the Union Square attack is ongoing and no arrests have been made, police said.
