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Woman Wearing Surgical Mask Burns Bus Driver With Mysterious Liquid


By

Jake Offenhartz

Published May 22, 2017

Modified May 22, 2017


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By

Jake Offenhartz

Published May 22, 2017

Modified May 22, 2017


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A bus driver was hospitalized Friday night after being sprayed in the face with an unidentified liquid by a woman wearing a surgical mask.

The incident took place at the corner of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue in Bed-Stuy at around 11 p.m. Friday night, police said. The woman, a passenger on the B15 bus, sprayed the "irritant" at the 57-year-old driver as she was departing.

An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that the bus driver had been released from Woodhull Hospital "without permanent injury."

The incident comes just three weeks after the MTA celebrated the final rollout of partitions intended to protect drivers from passenger attacks. The plastic partitions have been cited by the Transport Workers Union Local 100 as one reason that assaults on bus drivers have dropped significantly in recent years, from 86 attacks in 2012 to 56 attacks last year.

Security camera images from Friday's incident appear to show the B15 bus equipped with a plastic partition. Police are still searching for the woman, who was last seen wearing a surgical mask and dark clothing.

Anyone with information in regards 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 by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

Tagged

assault

bus driver

MTA

Precinct 79


Jake Offenhartz

Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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