Cops search for man who assaulted bus driver with wrench in Red Hook

The NYPD is looking for a suspect who assaulted a bus driver with a wrench in Red Hook earlier this month. 

According to police, at 8:04 a.m. on May 13, a 71-year-old male MTA employee was operating a B61 bus near the vicinity of Lorraine Street and Hicks Street when an unknown man boarded the bus. The suspect got into an argument with the driver, pulled out a wrench and hit the driver in the forehead with the wrench.

The suspect then fled the scene on a scooter headed eastbound on Lorraine Street. The victim suffered minor injuries and was taken by paramedics to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in stable condition.

The suspect is described by police as a man in his early 40s with a dark complexion, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and tan pants.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or on X @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.

So far this year, overall crime is down 3.57% in the 76th Precinct, where the May 13 incident occurred, and assaults are down 10%. But transit crime is up 300% year-to-date, with four incidents reported as of May 25 compared to just one in the same period last year. 

This story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork.