QUEENS, NY — Police are searching for a stranger who tried to grab a 13-year-old boy in Queens after making inappropriate, lewd comments as the teen walked through the neighborhood.
Authorities said the attempted attack occurred around 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 22 outside 43-03 76th Street in Elmhurst, when an unidentified individual approached a 13-year-old boy walking on the sidewalk, grabbed him, and made lewd statements.
A bystander who saw the incident quickly intervened, prompting the suspect to flee on foot. Authorities said the teen was not physically hurt, and the suspect’s direction of travel remains unknown, as police continue their search.
Video released by the NYPD shows the suspect exiting a subway station while wearing a white coat, dark shirt, dark pants, and red-and-white sneakers, but provides no additional details about the attack.
The case is under investigation by the NYPD’s Special Victims Division. No additional information was available as of Monday.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, using the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) with the code TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers can dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).