Suspect ARRESTED after NYU student slapped from behind, thrown to ground in random attack in Manhattan

December 2 2025 MANHATTAN, New York – A 45-year-old man, identified by police as James Rizzo, has been arrested following a random attack on a 20-year-old NYU student in Greenwich Village on Monday

The student, Amelia Lewis, reported that she was slapped from behind and thrown to the ground while walking to class. Surveillance video from a nearby liquor store captured the moment she was struck, followed by several young women helping her up.

Lewis said a friend obtained the video from the store and shared it with her. She forwarded the footage to NYU security, who told her they relayed it to police.