A 70-year-old man who took exception to a group of teenagers smoking pot in the stairwell of a NYCHA apartment building in Chelsea on Monday was sprayed with a substance believed to be pepper spray when he asked them to leave, police said.
The incident allegedly took place at around 12:23 p.m. inside the NYCHA Fulton Houses complex on West 17th Street when the victim said he saw several individuals smoking pot in the stairwell.
The victim told them to leave, at which point a female allegedly discharged a substance believed to be pepper spray into the 70-year-old man’s eyes. The individuals fled the location, while the 70-year-old sustained minor injuries to his eyes. He was treated by EMS at the scene.
The suspect is described as being in her teens, with a light complexion, medium building and black hair.
She was last seen wearing glasses, a black jacket, black pants and white sneakers.
The police released a surveillance photo of the teenager, obtained from the scene.
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).
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