NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The search for the men who attacked a woman outside a Harlem liquor store continues and now the community is showing its support for the victim.
A large crowd of people spread out on 128th Street in Harlem on Saturday night, many of them standing directly in front of a liquor store where a 31-year-old mother was brutally beaten on Monday.
The demonstration ended in a rally that began three blocks away, as women, men and children stood in the corner and spoke out against violence against the neighborhood.
“If we don’t, who is it? It’s our responsibility, it’s our duty to protect our women and children in our community, ”said Omar Jackson, director of Stand Against Violence East Harlem.
“It could have been me, my daughters, my mother, any woman,” East Harlem resident Cory James Tamika Foster said. “The community as a whole, we need to stay together.”
Earlier this week, Lisa Rozner of CBS2 spoke exclusively with the woman who was assaulted.
MORE – Exclusive: A woman brutally attacked at the Harlem liquor store says the suspect has tried to bite her eyes: “This is an animal.” This is not a person ‘
He says he was buying a bottle of wine inside a liquor store when one of the men offered to pay, but politely declined.
After leaving and leaving the store, the woman says that man and two others chased her down the street and then kicked her. One of them even bit her on the forehead.
Police say a woman was assaulted and robbed by three people after an argument at a liquor store in Harlem on January 18, 2021. (Credit: NYPD Crime Stoppers)
“No matter how much I asked her, you know, I try to reach my daughter, please leave me alone, I said I will call the police. He didn’t care about that. I had something on my mind and that was attacking me. That’s what I wanted to do, ”the victim told Rozner.
Relatives of the victim showed up at the rally on Saturday in support of his cousin, who is said to be still traumatized.
“People can’t think they can do what they want to do. It doesn’t mean no, ”said cousin Laroya Smalls.
“No sense, no reason, I didn’t even know them,” cousin Sybil Smalls said. “It simply came to our notice then. That is our main goal. “
Police hope surveillance footage will help make this happen so that the woman who was attacked can regain justice and her sense of security.
“I definitely want to see him locked up, if not under jail for what he did to me because I didn’t deserve that,” the victim said.
One of the men accused of the attack also allegedly stole the victim’s iPhone.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to NYPD Tips Twitter account or posted online to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
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