A mother who was walking with her 5-year-old daughter suffered injuries including broken teeth when a stranger shoved her to the ground at random in D.C.
Emily Lebowitz and her daughter were headed home from a children’s activity center in the Capitol Hill neighborhood on Monday evening when the attack occurred, she said. They were in the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE in the height or rush hour.
“We’re talking, having a nice conversation, and out of nowhere I just get knocked down to the ground,” Lebowitz said Thursday.
“It felt like a ton of bricks hit me. I didn’t honestly know what it was. I just — I had no time to react. I didn’t see anything. I was on my face. I felt my teeth were broken right away,” she said.
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A number of people rushed to help Lebowitz. One woman stayed with Lebowitz’s daughter as she got to her feet.
“Thank goodness it wasn’t her. Thanks goodness she was OK,” Lebowitz said about her child.
Another person snapped a photo of the attacker and gave it to police.
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Surveillance footage captured the aftermath of the attack. After the man attacked a total stranger on a busy sidewalk, he walked away.
Police said they hope the video can help them find him.
Lebowitz is sore and bruised, and will need oral surgery.
She said she was thankful to the strangers who helped her.
“It meant everything to me. The community is amazing and people were so nice and helpful,” she said.
Anyone who recognizes the man on video is asked to contact police.
