Robber viciously attacks ice cream shop worker with rock

NEW YORK - Police in New York were looking for a man wanted in connection with a brutal attack on a worker at a Manhattan ice cream shop.  The same man is wanted in a series of other robberies.  WARNING:  VIDEO ABOVE IS GRAFFIC

The rock attack took place Wednesday night at the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream shop on Third Ave. in the Kips Bay neighborhood.

The NYPD said the man placed an order, and when the 23-year-old clerk turned away, he took a large rock out of a bag and hit her in the head while demanded money.
 
He then went into the storage room before taking off down 30th Street.

The victim suffered a concussion and laceration to the head.  EMS took her to NYU Medical Center.  She was listed in stable condition.

The man is wanted for at least three other robberies.

On January 13th, they say he went into the Kaylee Restaurant on 27th St. at about 8 p.m.  He went up to a 19-year old worker behind the counter and indicated he had a weapon.  He took a cash register with about $400 in it and took off.

Police think the same man went into the Maze restaurant on 32nd St. on Dec. 27, 2020, and stole a 32-year-old female victim's purse from her table, and took off.
 
The man is also wanted for a theft inside the Stewart Hotel on January 7, 2021.  The man took a 59-year-old female victim's bag from the hotel lobby and then fled northbound on 7th Avenue. 
 

The NYPD released videos and images of the man.  Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.  Police say all calls are strictly confidential.