KIPS BAY — A resident of a troubled Kips Bay homeless shelter was arrested on Thursday in connection to the violent attempted robbery of a woman nearby, police said.
Darnell Williams, 29, a resident of the 30th Street Men’s Shelter, came up behind a 37-year-old woman walking on Second Avenue near East 34th Street just before midnight on Feb. 26 and bludgeoned her over the head with an unknown object, police said.
Williams tried to yank her purse off, pulling the woman to the ground and beating her repeatedly with the blunt object, according to a police report.
The woman managed to hang onto her purse and went to NYU Langone Medical Center for treatment after the attack, police said.
Williams was arrested on Thursday, two days after police released footage of him casually strolling away from the scene of the crime.
He was charged with attempted robbery, assault and attempted grand larceny, police said. He had not been arraigned as of Friday morning.
