Exclusive: Woman speaks out about brutal beating caught on camera in Bushwick

BUSHWICK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The NYPD is searching for a thug caught on surveillance video brutally beating the face of a woman in Brooklyn, and then stealing her purse.

The woman was badly injured, but is proud and courageous and told her story exclusively to Eyewitness News Reporter Carolina Leid.

"I just really wanted to come forward with my story because I don't want to see this happen to someone else, especially if he's still out there, which he is," the victim said.

The 25-year-old woman doesn't want to be identified because her attacker is still on the loose and she's afraid.

Surveillance video shows a man following closely behind her as she walked home around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

The video shows him throw her to the ground, punch her several times in the face, and then take off running with her purse.

"I waited a few minutes and then walked another couple of blocks, and then looked behind me to make sure that he still wasn't there, and all of a sudden he was behind me and he hit me in the back of the head and pushed me into the road and continued beating me," the victim said.

The Bushwick resident has stitches on her mouth and face, a head injury and a broken nose.

It happened at the corner of Cody and Cypress avenues.

The mugger got away with her bank cards and $160 in cash.

Luis Colon stepped in to help and was shocked to see her injuries.

"It was a screeching, 'HELP, HELP, HELP!' By the time I got to her, I saw a black hood and black clothes and he just ran," Colon said. "Get a job. Stop robbing people. Do something right in your life."