71-Year-Old Woman Fights Off Teen Muggers on NYC Subway, Demands Respect
A 71-year-old woman in New York City gave a group of would-be teen muggers a taste of their own medicine when they tried to rob her on her way to church on New Year’s Day. The four female teens attacked the senior on the subway system, punching and stomping on her during the botched robbery.
According to the NYPD and a New York Post report, the victim, Linda Rosa, was on her way to a church service in Brooklyn at around 6 p.m. when she got off a Number 3 train at Hoyt Station. The teens, who are still on the loose, tried to steal Rosa’s bag and struck her on the body.
Rosa described the disturbing attack, saying she was adamant she would not be robbed. When one of the teens tried to grab her purse, she asked if she wanted to fight. Rosa said she was knocked to the floor, where one of the teens stomped on her. Fearing the teens would stomp her in the head, Rosa fought back.
Rosa grabbed the first teen’s braids and twirled them around her hand, then pulled her down. She yelled for someone to help her, and the second teen came for her again. Rosa grabbed the second teen’s hair and twisted it around her hand, then yelled for help again. Eventually, she cut the teens loose and they bolted from the subway system.
Rosa was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and has since returned home. Despite the frightening ordeal, she forgives the teens, saying they do not know what they did and are just teenagers acting foolish. She warns that nobody is safe in New York City’s subway system or on the streets these days, and that anyone could be a target.
The attack comes on the heels of several other crimes in the city’s subway system, including the attempted murder of a 45-year-old man who was shoved onto the subway tracks on New Year’s Eve, and the brutal murder of a woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a subway train in Brooklyn. Despite Governor Kathy Hochul touting the subway system as safe, residents remain concerned about their safety in the city’s transit network.