NYPD investigating ambush, robbery of man in Queens park as possible hate crime
FLUSHING, Queens (WABC) -- Police are investigating an attack as a possible hate crime after a man was ambushed and robbed by a group of men at a park in Queens over the weekend.
The old World's Fair grounds at Flushing Meadows Corona Park is one of the great tributes to global ingenuity.
It's a park that celebrates innovation and big ideas, but none of that matters anymore to robbery victim Sam Levy.
"Right now, it only hurts but before you could see it all black and blue," Levy said.
To him, it's just the place where he became a victim after a group of six men set upon him for his money, his cell phone and his dignity.
"He said these exact words, '(expletive) Jew' and then all of the force," Levy said. "They had the money, they had the phone, they could have just run away. But now they found out I was Jewish. All of it pure evil. I'm telling you they hit me with no mercy. I knew I was dead, there's no way I'm getting out of this."
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It happened around Sunday around 8:30 p.m., when Levy was on his nightly walk past the unisphere and over a bridge over the Grand Central.
At the bottom of the bridge, he saw his attackers break into two groups, one blocking each direction he could take. Meaning, he had no choice but to walk directly into an ambush.
He thinks the muggers realized he was Jewish when they saw his name on his ID.
Now the NYPD's Hate Crimes Taskforce is investigating whether this was a hate crime.
Investigators are tracking suspicious activity on his credit cards.
"I said to myself, if I don't get up now, I'm dead," Levy said.
Levy's wounds will heal soon, but his trauma will stay with him forever.
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