Posted: 21:51, November 2, 2022 | Updated: 21:55, November 2, 2022
A 71-year-old man died after a 15-year-old boy punched him in the face outside a pizzeria in Manhattan. Brad Boonshaft spent six weeks fighting for his life after the Sept. 15 attack, but died Sunday, police said. After a “brief verbal encounter” the boy knocked the elderly man unconscious by punching him several times in the head. The elderly man was then left on the ground outside 2 Bros Pizza on Eighth Avenue near West 25th Street. The boy was arrested at the scene and charged with assaulting a man over 65. The New York Medical Examiner found that Boonshaft died as a result of injuries sustained during the fight, so his death will be treated as a homicide. Brad Boonshaft, 71, was left lying on the ground outside 2 Bros Pizza on Eighth Avenue near West 25th Street after being punched by a 15-year-old 10th Precinct officers responded to a 911 call around 4 p.m. regarding an assault at 288 Eighth Avenue. When medics arrived on the scene they found Boonshaft on the ground suffering from a massive head injury. Police said they would not name the teenager because of his age, but that the charges against him could be more serious at his next appearance in Family Court. Booncraft was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with a subdural hematoma and died of his injuries at the hospital on Oct. 30, authorities said. Booncraft was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with a subdural hematoma and died of his injuries at the hospital on Oct. 30, authorities said. That happened three blocks from where Broadway singing coach Barbara Meyer Gustern, 87, was killed in an unprovoked attack in March. The suspect accused of pushing her is 26-year-old Lauren Pazienza, who has twice rejected plea deals and is being held at Rikers Island awaiting trial.
