Cops Arrest Man After Beating Senior

Eron Cruz, 32, was charged with assaulting a person over the age of 65 following the Oct. 28 attack on an 89-year-old woman in Upper Manhattan. The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. outside a medical office at 565 West 125th Street. Officers from the 26th Precinct, who were in the area investigating car thefts, responded to a witness call and apprehended Cruz shortly after he fled the scene.

Police sources state that Cruz punched the victim without provocation, causing her face to strike a wall. The impact left the woman with a laceration and a head knot. She was transported to Saint Luke’s Hospital, where staff listed her condition as stable. Cruz was identified on Thursday and taken into custody while holding two active warrants.

The suspect has a documented history of incidents involving older adults. On Aug. 7, Cruz was arrested for shoving a 64-year-old woman at the corner of Broadway and West 72nd Street. That shoving caused the victim to fall and sustain back injuries. Police records indicate this is not his first run-in with the law for such behavior.

Cruz has four prior arrests in total. His file also lists 33 documented cases of mental health incidents. In January 2022, officers cuffed him after he repeatedly smacked the buttocks of a 29-year-old commuter on a Bx19 bus at the intersection of Saint Nicholas Avenue and West 145th Street. The pattern of unprovoked physical contact with strangers spans several years.