Police have arrested the woman accused of beating a 98-year-old man with a broomstick and a metal chair during an argument over leaving a political flyer in a Brooklyn building.
Tashara Abel, 27, was hit with multiple counts of assault, burglary and weapons possession on Friday for the assault in the building, near the corner of Maple St. and Rogers Ave. in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, cops said.
Abel was distributing flyers for the reelection campaign of New York State Committee Member Anthony Beckford for the June 23 Democratic primary when she entered the building around 4 p.m. Thursday.
The building has a strict “no flyers, no posters,” rule, according to a sign attached to its front door.
As Abel began stuffing mailboxes with the flyers, she got into an argument with the building’s elderly owner, cops said. Things quickly escalated to a fight, during which she punched the senior, then beat him with a broomstick and a metal chair, cops said.
Abel claimed that she didn’t strike the elderly man with a broom or chair and that the nonagenarian started things by pushing her first. Abel pushed him back in retaliation, according to court documents.
Abel lives in Brownsville, about two miles from where the attack took place. Cops were able to identify her through a doorbell camera on the block.
Rebecca White / New York Daily News
The senior citizen had just entered his building, left, in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens when he got into an argument with a woman stuffing political flyers, right, into mailboxes, police said. (Rebecca White / New York Daily News)
Abel was released without bail at her arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Saturday on condition that she have no contact with the victim.
The senior suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
“The man is my husband. He’s shaken up,” the victim’s wife said, declining to give her name. “He’s an elderly man. It’s just that he’s been assaulted.”
The attack comes as the NYPD investigates a troubling string of chilling assaults against older New Yorkers.
Beckford told the Daily News Friday that he was “currently reviewing the situation to better understand the full circumstances.” He said he had reached out to the victimized senior to “ensure he is doing well and has the support he needs.”
“While volunteers may operate independently, anyone associated with my campaign is expected to conduct themselves with respect and professionalism at all times, and if it is determined that an individual connected to my campaign acted inappropriately, appropriate actions will be taken,” Beckford added. “We will continue to monitor this matter closely.”
Neighbors described the 98-year-old victim as a well-known figure in the community, who could always be found sweeping outside his building and offering to help residents on the block.
“He’s always on the lookout to make sure everybody’s safe,” said one neighbor, who wished not to be named. “He’s a real sweetheart.”
Despite he’s advanced years, the man — who’s just two years shy of turning 100 — is full of energy and strong, said neighbors, who couldn’t fathom why someone would want to hurt him.
“(He’s) a really cool community dad,” neighbor Angela Williams, 60, told the Daily News. “I can’t understand (the assault). He doesn’t bother anyone. Why would you beat up someone just for telling you not to leave flyers?”
