A cellist was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger wielding a water bottle as he performed in the New York City subway the day before Valentine’s Day.
How it Happened
Iain Forrest, 27, a medical student and musician, was playing his electric cello at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13.
In a shocking moment caught on video, an unidentified woman strode over, picked up the metal water bottle he’d set on the ground and smashed it over his head.
The bottle clattered to the ground as Forrest clutched his head in pain.
She Escaped
Forrest wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the woman fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy’s, where she evaded city police.
READ ALSO: Man arrested FOR stealing Jackie Robinson statue, leaving only feet behind
Victim Impact Statement
This marks the second attack I’ve endured in less than a year while performing for New Yorkers in subway stations,’ the performer wrote on social media.
‘I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’m suspending subway performances indefinitely.’
The first incident came in June, when Forrest was punched and choked by another man in Times Square.
He was coincidentally treated at Mount Sinai, the same hospital where he attends medical school.
Police say they are searching for a woman in relation to the latest attack last seen wearing a mustard yellow jacket, black beanie and red scarf.
‘No one in the transit system, including the musicians, should be subjected to violence, and when the NYPD catches up to the person who committed this senseless attack they will be held accountable,’ the Metropolitan Transit Authority wrote in a statement.
Who is Forrest?
Forrest is a member of the MTA’s Music Under New York program, which schedules musical performances in transit hubs throughout the city.
The 27-year-old performs under the moniker ‘Eyeglasses,’ playing electric cello covers in addition to writing his own music.
