91-year-old man fends off violent mugger in NYC attack, search for suspect continues

(NEW YORK) — Police continue to search for a violent mugger who met his match in a 91-year-old man he tried to rob on a New York City street.

The victim, Hyman Silverglad, was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital Medical Center with multiple injuries last week after he fought off the mugger trying to steal his wallet.

The assault took place on Feb. 1 on East 86th Street between First and Second Avenues around 10:30 a.m., local time, according to police. The suspect was captured by surveillance cameras and was last seen fleeing the scene on foot.

The NYPD’s 19th precinct released a photo of the suspect on X Wednesday, asking the public for tips locating him.

A police spokesperson told ABC News Thursday that the suspect remains at large.

In an interview with WABC in New York on Wednesday, Silverglad, and his son, James, recounted the brutal assault.

Hyman Silverglad says he was walking home from the grocery store when the assailant violently pushed him to the ground and punched him while trying to take his wallet.

However, the retired attorney from Coney Island held firm onto his wallet until the suspect fled the scene.

“He said ‘I’m from Coney Island,’ he wasn’t going to get my wallet,’ that’s what he said,” James Silverglad said of his father remaining steadfast against the attacker.

Hyman Silverglad told WABC the several fractures he sustained in the attack have left him “in agony.”

“He threw me to the ground and I have suffered at least six fractures, very bad fractures and I’m in agony,” he said. “I cannot walk, I’m in never-ending constant pain.”

James Silverglad told the outlet that before his father retired from his legal practice, he was known for lending his law expertise to those who could not afford an attorney.

“He called himself the lawyer of last resort, that if you couldn’t get anybody else, you could get him, and that’s a direct quote,” his son said.

Despite the injuries sustained in the would-be mugging, the 91-year-old maintained, “I had to fight for my life. Who wouldn’t put up a good fight?”

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