NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) The search continues for the men who attacked a woman outside a liquor store in Harlem, and now the community is showing their support for the victim.
A large crowd of people stretched across 128 Street in Harlem on Saturday night. Many of them were standing right in front of a liquor store where a 31-year-old mother was brutally beaten on Monday.
The protest was the end of a protest that began three blocks further when women, men and children stood on the corner and spoke out against violence directed at the environment.
If we do not do it, then who is it? It is our responsibility, it is our duty to protect our women and children in our community, ”said Omar Jackson, director of Stand Against Violence East Harlem.
“It could have been me, my daughters, my mother and any female woman,” East Harlem resident Tamika Foster told CBS James Cory James. “The community as a whole, we all need to stay together.”
Earlier this week, CBS2’s Lisa Rozner spoke exclusively to the woman who was assaulted.
MORE – Exclusive: A woman who was brutally attacked in the liquor store in Harlem says the suspect tried to roll her eyes: ‘This is an animal. This is not a person
She says she was buying a bottle of wine at a liquor store when one of the men offered to pay, but she politely refused.
After the woman went out and left the store, the man and two others said they chased her across the street and then kicked her. One of them even bit her on the forehead.
According to police, a woman was assaulted by three people and robbed after an altercation at a liquor store in Harlem on January 18, 2021. (Credit: NYPD Crime Stoppers)
‘No matter how much I asked, you know, I’m trying to get to my daughter, please leave me alone, I said I would call the police. He did not care. He had one thing on his mind and that was to attack me. That’s what he wanted to do, ”the victim told Rozner.
The relatives of the victim showed up at Saturday’s gathering in support of their cousin, who they said was still traumatized.
“People can not think that they can do what they want to do. No means no, ”said cousin Laroya Smalls.
“Senseless, no reason, she did not even know them,” said cousin Sybil Smalls. “We have to get them caught. This is our main goal. ”
Police hope recording material will help make this happen so that the woman who was attacked can get justice and restore her sense of security.
“I definitely want to see that he is locked up, or not under jail, because he did it to me because I did not deserve it,” the victim said.
One of the men accused in the attack also allegedly stole the victim’s iPhone.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be given to the NYPD Tips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
MORE FROM CBS NEW YORK