Man arrested after 73-year-old woman punched in face on subway platform

Unprovoked attack comes after another elderly New Yorker was pushed last week

New York police have arrested a homeless man suspected to be the Bronx subway station attacker who pushed a 73-year-old woman last week.

Authorities announced on Saturday night that 23-year-old Ahmed Kromah had been apprehended and charged with assault after an appeal, reported CBS News.

Kromah is alleged to have punched a woman, who was hospitalised, in the head on Wednesday night.

She had been waiting on the Manhattan-bound side at 174-175 St Station in the Bronx, when a man walked up to her and punched her in the side of her face, said police.

The suspect, who was pictured in surveillance photos, then fled the station sometime after 7pm on Wednesday.

Police had appealed on Saturday night for further information regarding the suspect, who was later arrested.

The 73-year-old victim, who told police that she had not communicated with Kromah prior to the attack, was taken to Bronx Care Hospital on Wednesday night where she was treated for pain and swelling.

The Bronx attack comes after a 92-year-old woman was shoved to the pavement in Manhattan last week in another unprovoked attack.

New York police later arrested the suspect, who had been convicted with sexual assault in 2014 and charged multiple times prior to his latest arrest.

John Cardillo, an ex-New York cop and political commentator, said on Twitter on Sunday night it was now “open season on the most vulnerable”.

Mr Cardillo, who served with the NYPD in the 1990s, commented that New York was now comparable to “pre-⁦Rudy Giuliani NYC”, when the Republican replaced Democratic mayor David Dinkins in 1994.

“I’ve been telling you, it’s open season on the most vulnerable,” wrote Mr Cardillo. ”I’ve been down this road before in pre-⁦Rudy Giuliani NYC. It’s only going to get worse.”

The Independent has contacted New York mayor Bill de Blasio’s office for comment.