Police seek woman for questioning in alleged assault of Staten Island store employee during attempted robbery

STATEN ISLAND, NY — The NYPD is seeking a woman for questioning in connection with an alleged attempted robbery and assault of a Mariners Harbor convenience store employee.

It was reported to police that on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at approximately 10:20 a.m., the unidentified woman attempted to remove several items from the shelves of the store, located in the Forest Commons shopping center at 2040 Forest Ave.

Police could not confirm the store where the incident allegedly took place.

However, when she tried to leave the store, the woman allegedly punched a 25-year-old employee in the face several times before fleeing on foot eastbound on Forest Avenue, according to a statement from the deputy information commissioner. of the NYPD.

The victim suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention, police said.

The NYPD has released a surveillance image of the individual who is wanted for questioning in the case.

Armed with a new statute that went into effect earlier this monthprosecutors began filing felony charges against people accused of committing assaults on retail workers during shoplifting.

As part of a bill authored by state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn) and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul last spring, raised assault on a retail worker to a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison.

“As we’ve been saying for some time, no one should have to live in fear of being assaulted when they go to work,” Scarcella-Spanton previously said of the new law.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.