Security footage captured the harrowing moment a New York social media influencer was punched in the head and knocked to the ground in an unprovoked attack by a stranger.
Kindra Hall said she was walking to work along a sidewalk in the Upper East Side of Manhattan at about 10.30 a.m. on May 14 when she “realized something wasn’t right.”
In the clip, a man sporting a dark blue hooded jacket barreled towards Hall with an outstretched arm, striking her in the face, which caused her to trip over a tree guard and come crashing to the concrete.
Hall posted footage of the incident to her 66,000 Instagram followers on Wednesday, captioning it, “My walk to work this morning.”
The woman said she left the scene with a headache and a swollen jaw and ear. A week later, Hall said on her Instagram story that she had some “gnarly bruising” on the back of her legs from her fall.
“I wasn’t on my phone when it happened. I wasn’t distracted. It wasn’t an unsafe hour,” she said. “I even made note of the guy when I saw him, but it wasn’t until I saw a strange flick in his hand… that I realized something wasn’t right.”
A good Samaritan rushed to Hall’s attention as the woman dusted herself off and got back to her feet to begin filming her attacker on her cell phone.
“Hey, you want to know what my address is?” taunted the man who was later identified as Yao Reed, 43, waving his hand, before shouting: “211.” The attacker then issued a chilling threat: “Want to marry me so I can slit your throat?”
NYPD officers arrived at the scene around 30 minutes later after she called 911.
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According to the victim, NYPD officers were initially reluctant to pursue the attacker until she explained she had a headache. Officers agreed to go to the address shouted at Hall by the assailant, the woman said, under one condition: that she go with them.
“I can’t describe how terrifying that was. Maybe they were hoping I’d refuse and give up?,” Hall added.
Chaperoned by cops, Hall found the man near 211 East 81st Street, next to a salon called Willy’s Hair Styling – the address he had shouted at her.
Hall filmed the attacker detained in handcuffs beside two officers in police uniform, while a third person was next to them in civilian clothes.
“You wanna die,” the perpetrator said to one officer. “Shall I incinerate you?” he added before being thrust into the wall by a cop.
The man was taken away after several more officers came as back-up. He was later charged with assault in the third degree, the NYPD said Thursday. An investigation is ongoing.
Hall said it wasn’t the police who recovered the security footage of the assailant, but her husband, Michael. She said he went into a nearby nail salon and obtained the footage in “five minutes.”
“I am so grateful it wasn’t worse,” she said. “I’m grateful it was me and not someone who couldn’t take the hit or the fall. I’m hopeful the man gets the help and services he clearly needs.”
