An NYU student was violently attacked and thrown to the ground while walking to class in Lower Manhattan on Monday morning — an unprovoked assault captured on a nearby surveillance camera.
Student Amilia Lewis said she was heading down Broadway just before 9:30 a.m. when a stranger suddenly approached her from behind and launched the shocking attack.
In a tearful TikTok video posted afterward, Lewis said she had been listening to music with her headphones on when she suddenly felt a painful slap.
“I feel something slap me so hard, literally on my ass,” she said. “I thought it was one of my friends. I was going to turn around and be like, ‘Why did you do that? That hurt so bad.’”
But when she turned around, she realized she had been assaulted by a stranger — not a classmate.
“I saw this old white guy. And right when I turned around, he grabs my hair and yanks me and throws me to the ground. My headphones went flying,” she said, sobbing as she recounted the moment.
Lewis said she hit the pavement while the man sprinted away down Waverly Place, leaving her stunned and asking herself what had just happened.
Surveillance footage shows the attacker quietly approaching her from behind, striking and pulling her to the ground, then fleeing as bystanders rushed forward to help the shaken student.
According to sources, the NYPD is investigating the incident and coordinating with NYU campus security.
Still traumatized, Lewis posted a warning on social media:
“I just really want to emphasize how not okay this is. I’m still in shock, but I’m more enraged that things like this are able to happen. This is unacceptable.”
She urged New Yorkers to take safety seriously, saying the incident reflects broader concerns about the city’s public safety situation.
Lewis described her attacker as a tall white male with long brown hair and a long brown beard, wearing gray sweatpants, a large black fur-style jacket, and a blue towel around his neck.
