Crime & Safety

Hell's Kitchen Storeowner Punched By Customer After Mask Dispute

A man punched the 68-year-old proprietor of a longtime military surplus shop, reportedly after being asked to put on a mask, police said.

Police shared surveillance footage capturing the assault, which happened Nov. 20 around 6 p.m. inside Kaufman Army and Navy Store.
Police shared surveillance footage capturing the assault, which happened Nov. 20 around 6 p.m. inside Kaufman Army and Navy Store. (NYPD)

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — The proprietor of a Hell's Kitchen military surplus store was attacked by a customer, reportedly after he told the man to put on a face mask, according to police and news reports.

The assault happened Nov. 20 around 6 p.m. inside Kaufman Army and Navy Store, which has been in business since the 1940s on West 42nd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues.

When the proprietor, a 68-year-old man, asked the visitor to put on a mask, the unidentified suspect punched him in the head, the New York Post reported. He was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was treated for bleeding and swelling to the head.

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(NYPD)

The man left the store and got in a taxi, according to police. He was descirbed as a light-skinned man with facial hair and a tattoo on his right hand, last seen wearing a dark-colored baseball hat, a black hooded jacket, a red Nike shirt, blue jeans and black boots.

Police asked anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.

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