Police in New York City said that a man allegedly punched an 11-year-old girl in the face on Wednesday, and also reportedly struck a 15-year-old who tried to intervene during the attack.
The incident occurred around noon, in Stuyvesant Square, a city park. Police said that the girl was in the park with her classmates when an unknown man approached them and began yelling.
"The individual began to spray water at the victim and proceeded to try and attack her. When the victim attempted to fight back, the individual did grab the victim by her hair and punched her in the left side of her face," the New York Police Department wrote in a statement to Newsweek.
The girl was brought to New York City's Mt. Sinai Beth Israel hospital in stable condition, police said.
Police added that during the assault, the man also allegedly "wrapped his hands around the victim's neck and applied pressure."
During the attack, police said the girl's 15-year-old classmate "tried to intervene when he saw the victim being assaulted." He was hit and received minor injuries that were treated on the scene by EMS staff, the NYPD said.
Police are still looking for the man accused of committing the assault. They describe the man as "a light-skinned male" between the age of 25 and 35. He had facial hair and shoulder-length blonde hair and was last seen wearing a gray long sleeve shirt, black pants, black sneakers and sunglasses.
CBS New York reported that the incident occurred while the students were on a school lunch break.
Regulars at the park told the television news station that they have seen the suspect in the alleged attack in the park before, and said that they have seen him allegedly abuse his dog.
"We recognize him. He's come to the park a few times," one person told CBS New York.
"He'll get mad at his dog for not coming out of the park when he wants. He'll come and sit on the bench and slap him around," another told the station.
Police have not released where the two victims of the attack attend school.
The incident at the park this week is the latest in a series of random attacks New York City has seen recently. In September, a video captured a man in the city attacking an elderly woman as he attempted to steal her purse and Bible.
Also last month, New York City police arrested a man who they say kicked a woman down an escalator in Brooklyn, leading to several injuries.
