Suspect goes on wild attack on white man in Bronx pizzeria: 'Look at this f***ing white guy!'
Image source: New York Post video screenshot
A 59-year-old New York man received a cracked eye socket after what appeared to be a racially motivated attack in a Bronx pizzeria.
What are the details of the incident?
Chris Bilcik, the victim, said that he was sitting at a table in Ray's Pizza on Oct. 6, using his laptop, when a man stormed in and began shouting about white people.
The unidentified — and as-yet captured — suspect reportedly screamed, "Look at this f***ing white guy! These f***ing white people think they own the world!"
The man reportedly tried to sit at Bilcik's table, according to the New York Post, but Bilcik simply got up and moved to another table.
It apparently wasn't enough to deter the suspect or spare Bilcik from the alleged harassment.
Bilcik finally attempted to leave the pizzeria, and that's when the suspect reportedly stood near the door and proceeded to slap Bilcik in the face.
Shocked, Bilcik threw his coffee at his assailant, and that's when the suspect reportedly punched Bilcik in the face hard enough to fracture his eye socket and tear the retina in his eye.
"I threw coffee at him, and then he punched me," Bilcik told the Post. "It's a Mike Tyson punch. I'm lucky he didn't keep hitting me."
Bilcik, who's lived in the neighborhood for 18 years, told WNBC-TV that the suspect appeared to be unhinged the moment he walked in the door.
"[The suspect] turns around. He starts pointing at me," Bilcik said. "He's talking to the people at the table, just rattling on about how 'white people are the devils [of] the world, I hate white people, we should get rid of white people.'"
Bilcik said that he also suffered a facial laceration when the suspect hit him.
"When I got hit, I felt very dizzy," he said. "My eye was mostly closed, and I had severe double vision. I could've been knocked out. Blood was gushing from it."
Bilcik called the attack "totally unprovoked," and revealed that he has had to undergo at least one surgery so far to repair his eye.
"I got bashed in the eye because I'm white," he added.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime. Law enforcement describes the suspect as a black man with a beard, about 5-foot-10 in height. The suspect was wearing a black baseball cap, gray sweatpants, and a waist-length jacket.
Authorities ask those people with any information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.