NYC Man Allegedly Assaults 9-Year-Old Girl, But an Unlikely Hero Steps In to Save the Day
A doorman at a famed New York City hotel stepped in to save a 9-year-old girl this week after he witnessed her being attacked.
Doorman Neil Johnson, 60, was working at the Plaza Hotel when he witnessed a man acting erratically around 11 a.m. on Monday.
Kimberly Thomas was working at a COVID-19 testing booth nearby, and she described the man’s behavior to the New York Post.
“We saw a man with a backpack, a red hoodie and a beige jacket screaming at people and people literally running away from him,” Thomas said.
The man, later identified as 27-year-old Raheem Ramsarran, allegedly proceeded to punch the young girl in the side of the head. The hero doorman said he was unable to stand idly by.
“I saw the woman crying and they’re running away from this guy and he’s walking fast toward them,” Johnson said. “So got to do something.”
While Johnson was not able to prevent the initial attack, he was not going to let Ramsarran harm the girl any further.
“I got in between them and this crazy guy,” Johnson said. “And then another guy joined me, who apparently saw the whole thing [happen]. So we just made sure that this person couldn’t go.”
As Johnson was keeping the suspect away from the girl, he called the police. He and the other man held Ramsarran there until the cops could arrive.
“After he realized he couldn’t go any further, we weren’t going to let him, he stayed there and started yelling, ‘Where are the cops? Where are the cops?’” Johnson said.
Police arrived at the scene about 15 minutes after the assault took place, the Post reported. They treated the victim on the scene for injuries on the left side of her head and took the suspect into custody.
The girl’s mother, Yelena Contreras Molerio, declined the offer of further medical assistance for her daughter. The Post was unable to reach Molerio for comment.
Police did not announce a motive for the attack, but Johnson said it was “pretty clear” Ramsarran had some sort of mental health condition. He said the attack was the most disturbing one he had witnessed.
“There’s always been fights and stuff like that but nothing that disturbing,” Johnson said. “This was just off the charts as far as sanity goes.”
According to the Post, the girl was from Miami and was trying to enjoy a New York City vacation.
“That little girl is never going to want to come to New York City ever again,” Johnson predicted.
“She’s not going to be OK. She’s traumatized. Can you imagine?”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
