The suspect and 43-14 60th St. (NYPD and Google Maps)
Aug. 7, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A feisty 84-year-old man – who was on his way to mass at St. Sebastian’s church in Woodside on Sunday– was attacked and robbed.
The elderly man was walking in front of 43-14 60th St. at around 7:45 a.m. when the suspect approached him from behind and tried to steal his wallet from his pants pocket, according to police.
The senior, who was identified as Oliver Neligan by Pix11News, told the TV outlet that he fought back and threw a cup of coffee at the attacker to fend him off.
“Then he grabbed me and I kind of wrestled with him, and we went down,” Neligan said.
Neligan’s head hit a wall as he fell to the ground. He suffered a bump on his head, a cut on his elbow and bruised ribs, the outlet reported.
He was transferred to LIJ Forest Hills Hospital in stable condition, police said.
The suspect fled the scene with Neligan’s eyeglasses, police said. The suspect did not get his wallet.
“We should be able to go to church and go shopping without being mugged.”
84-year-old Queens veteran tells @MurphyPIX how he fought off an attacker with hot coffee as he walked to church.
Full story: https://t.co/Z0FMBxVWmG pic.twitter.com/LSsMsadlyv
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) August 6, 2020
Neligan’s attacker is described as being 5 feet and 8 inches tall, black and having a thin build. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black sweat pants with white stripes on the side, black sneakers, a black backpack and a white face mask.
Police released video footage of the suspect from before the alleged incident.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
