The elderly have done so much for the society over the years and the least we can do for them in return is to show them appreciation and make sure they feel loved and cared for. Sadly, some individuals have no respect for this group of people and treat them as an unimportant part of the society, forgetting how fragile they are.
On June 12, an incident that took place in Manhattan involving a 92-year-old lady left everyone outraged. As the woman, Geraldine, was on her way to Duane Reade, she was hit on the head by a random passerby later identified as 31-year-old Rashid Brimmage according to New York Post.
Geraldine then fell on the ground and hit her head on the fire hydrant. Her attacker turned his head and saw her lying on the floor but did nothing to help her. He simply kept walking which can be seen from the disturbing video.
🚨WANTED for ASSAULT: Do you know him? On 6/12 at 3:23 PM, on 3rd Avenue between 15th Street & 16th Street in Manhattan, he pushed a 92-year-old female to the ground causing her to strike her head on a fire hydrant. Have info? Call/DM @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/SjTltmuNbb
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 16, 2020
“When they helped me up, I said ‘what happened’ because I didn’t even know what happened. It was completely out of the blue,” said Geraldine.
“I thought a brick hit me or something hit me on the left side of my head, and I went right down and hit my head against the hydrant,” she told New York Post. “Blood was coming out, not spurting blood, but blood was dripping.”
Luckily, other people who noticed her rushed to help her get on her feet. They called 911 and Geraldine was taken to the Beth Israel Hospital. She didn’t suffer any serious injuries on her head, but is having hard time understanding why would someone attack her for no reason. She now fears getting out of her house all by herself and the incident had some psychological impact on her.
“This damned guy put me in a state where I’m fearful to walk the streets alone. So my super’s trying to find somebody who will walk me to a park nearby or to the supermarket, that kind of thing. So that’s the problem,” she said.
Thanks to the video showing the attack, Rashid was arrested and charged with assault. This man showed aggressive behavior before and this arrest was his third this year. NBC New York reported how Rashid punched a 39-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman at Dunkin’ Donuts in February but only received desk appearance tickets.
Brute accused of shoving elderly NYC woman has been arrested over 100 times https://t.co/hqiB83hwMQ pic.twitter.com/2AvH7L6VGX
— New York Post (@nypost) June 17, 2020
In March, Rashid was reported to have punched a 29-year-old man at a Manhattan pizza shop. According to New York Post, this violent man has been arrested 103 times so far for different incidents. He has been also listed as a sex offender.
Assistant District Attorney Courtney Razner who is currently working on the case said, “He’s a violent predicate felon facing a minimum of five years in state prison for this case.” Rashid lives in a homeless shelter in Bronx and is schizophrenic and bipolar according to a social worker.
Here is every single time accused granny-shover Rashid Brimmage was arrested https://t.co/IXFazLNo8j pic.twitter.com/NMHSB62ZRM
— New York Post (@nypost) June 18, 2020
Attorney Henna Khan tried defending Rashid calling him “harmless.” She says what he did to Geraldine wasn’t a “deliberate act of violence.” However, Geraldine things otherwise and hopes he will spend some time behind bars and will have the time to think about what he did to her and all the other people he hurt in the past.
