GRAPHIC VIDEO – NYC Teen Hit in Face with Brick: ‘It Is Terrifying’

An 18-year-old was smacked in the face with a brick in New York City’s Chelsea area Monday and police are looking for the suspect.

Ethan Maddi was sitting on a stoop enjoying his lunch when a man walked up and allegedly hit him with the brick, ABC 7 reported Wednesday.

The suspect initially fled the scene but returned to snatch the young man’s backpack before leaving again.

Video footage showed the moment the suspect, wearing all black, approached the teenager. In the clip, viewers could hear the impact.

WARNING – GRAPHIC VIDEO:

A neighbor called for help while the victim tried to get up on his feet but collapsed onto the pavement.

Maddi suffered a concussion and additional facial injuries such as a broken left orbital, broken sinus, and a laceration on the inside and outside of his lip.

“It is terrifying. You hear of your son being attacked with a brick, the first thing you think is like brain injury, what’s gonna happen? What does this mean?” his mother, Yndhira Maddi, told the outlet.

A photo showed a close-up view of the suspect, who appeared to be carrying the brick as he walked down the street:

Stranger hits teen with brick in unprovoked, daylight NYC attack: cops https://t.co/lp6I59Nnxb pic.twitter.com/zRm6miMZ2t

— New York Post (@nypost) September 14, 2022

Maddi told CBS New York he could not remember exactly what happened and pointed out his injuries to reporters.

“It kind of all happened and I woke up in the hospital. … I was alone. This was the one day I went to lunch alone. It’s normally a peaceful area, just something you wouldn’t expect around there,” he commented:

His mother feared he suffered brain damage but said the following day most of his memory had returned.

“Even though I feel pretty safe walking around Chelsea, I do want to see more police presence,” she added.

Her comments come as the New York City Police Department (NYPD) is bleeding officers. Fox 5 New York reported in July on the numbers of officers leaving NYPD, calling it a “mass exodus”:

“Looking at the numbers, almost as many cops have resigned in the first half of 2022 than in all of 202o. This mass exodus, the result of an aging police force but also the result of certain laws like bail reform, mixed with what some officers perceive to be an anti-police climate,” according to the outlet’s Teresa Priolo.