‘To see him bloody, his glasses broken,’ Bronx mom wants answers after her son was randomly attacked
Emilyann Montes said her son, Elijah, was on his way to school Friday morning when he was punched multiple times by a stranger near Chesbrough Avenue and Williamsbridge Road.
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A Bronx mother is calling for help identifying a man she says randomly attacked her 15-year-old son as he walked to school in Westchester Square last week.
Emilyann Montes said her son, Elijah, was on his way to school Friday morning when he was punched multiple times by a stranger near Chesbrough Avenue and Williamsbridge Road.
According to Montes, Elijah did not see the man approaching.
"He didn't see anything. He didn't see the guy come from the side. He just felt two hits to the face, and he ran," she said.
The attack left the teenager with cuts and bruises on his face and damaged his eyeglasses. After escaping, Elijah called his mother.
"When you hear your kid crying and saying he got hit, and he doesn't understand why, it's heartbreaking," Montes said.
By the time she arrived at the scene, she said several bystanders had already called police and were assisting her son.
"To see him bloody, his glasses broken and disoriented, it's scary. It's heartbreaking," she said.
Surveillance video obtained by the family shows a man believed to be the attacker walking through the area shortly after the incident. Montes said the man fled in the opposite direction after the assault.
The incident occurred just minutes from Elijah's school and has left him fearful, according to his mother.
"I don't want him to be afraid of the streets. I don't want him to lose his independence. He's just getting it," Montes said. "He's hurt that someone would attack him for no reason."
Montes said she shared images of the suspected attacker on social media and was later contacted by another woman who claimed she was assaulted by the same man the following day.
The family hopes additional victims or witnesses will come forward and help police identify the suspect.
"I'm worried my son might see him again," Montes said. "I'm worried someone else's kid is going to get hit. I'm worried about the seniors in this neighborhood."
Police have not announced any arrests. Anyone with information is asked to contact the NYPD.
