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Man arrested after attack on NYU student in Manhattan
A 45-year-old man, James Rizzo, is in custody after police say he attacked an NYU student on her way to class in Greenwich Village. Surveillance video shows the moment the suspect approached her from behind before she says he grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground. The student, Amelia Lewis, shared her experience on social media, urging others to stay alert. Rizzo now faces charges including persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching, and assault.
NEW YORK - A man is now in custody after allegedly hitting an NYU student on the buttocks during an attack in Manhattan on Monday, according to police.
The victim, believed to be Amelia Lewis, has since detailed the incident in TikTok videos that have drawn more than a million views and prompted other students to share similar experiences.
Who is James Rizzo?
Police have identified the suspect as 45-year-old James Rizzo, who is now in custody.
What we know:
Police have identified the suspect as 45-year-old James Rizzo, who is now in custody.
According to police, Rizzo has 16 prior arrests.
What we don't know:
FOX 5 NY has not yet confirmed the specifics of those past charges.
NYU student assaulted: What happened?
The backstory:
Surveillance video obtained FOX 5 NY shows the man, believed to be Rizzo, following her across the street.
Moments later, he can be seen pulling her hair causing her to fall to the ground as bystanders react in shock.
The backstory:
Police say the incident happened around 9:22 a.m. on Monday, when officers responded to a 911 call in front of 735 Broadway.
Investigators said an unidentified man approached a 20-year-old woman from behind, slapped her in the head, struck her on the buttocks and pulled her hair before running off.
Amelia Lewis, who posts on TikTok as @amelia.lewis506 — later described the assault in a series of videos. "If you're a young girl living in New York City and going to NYU, please be careful," she said.
She says she was walking to class with headphones in when she suddenly felt someone slap her on the buttocks.
When she turned around, she says the man grabbed her by the hair. "[He] yanked me and like threw me to the ground. My headphones went flying," she said.
She called the encounter "the scariest experience of [her] life" and urged other students to stay alert.
In a second video, Amelia said she and a friend were able to obtain surveillance footage from a nearby store. She said the man in the video matched the description of someone believed to have assaulted multiple women near campus.
She described the suspect as a tall white male with long brown hair and a beard, wearing gray sweatpants, a black puffer jacket and a blue towel around his neck.
Other NYU students claim they were also attacked
Her posts quickly went viral, sparking comments from other students who say they’ve experienced similar attacks near campus.
One comment read, "I’m also an NYU student and this happened to me at the Gramercy dorm subway stop. I was punched by a homeless man and the guy is still on the streets today. NYPD and NYU security did nothing, no follow-up, nothing. Still dealing with the mental effects."
NYU responds
What they're saying:
A spokesperson for NYU provided a statement to FOX 5 NY regarding the incident: "The University is deeply disturbed by the attack on one of its female students that took place yesterday morning on a Broadway sidewalk. We take this incident very seriously; we are offering support to the student, and NYU's Campus Safety Department is working with the police in investigating the incident."
The investigation remains ongoing.
The Source: This report is based on information from police and Amelia Lewis's TikTok.