A homeless man has been busted for sucker-punching a 94-year-old shopper inside an Upper East Side Apple store during a random and unprovoked attack, NYPD officials said Friday.
Cops nabbed 31-year-old Lewis Reynolds after a sergeant spotted him in Midtown at about 12:10 a.m. and recognized him from a wanted poster, cops said.
Police charged him with assault, officials said. This is his first arrest in New York City.
He’s accused of storming into an Apple store on Madison Ave. and E. 74th St. at about 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday and socking his elderly victim in the face without saying a word.
After hitting his victim, he took off on Madison Ave. and disappeared.
His victim suffered minor injuries and said he didn’t require medical attention. He told police he didn’t know Reynolds, nor had words with the man at any point before the attack.
An exterior view of the Apple Store on Madison Ave. in Manhattan, New York. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Reynold’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Friday.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch hailed the arrest on Fox 5’s Good Day New York Friday morning.
“The good news is last night, while you were sleeping, we made an arrest in that case and got the person responsible,” Tisch said, calling the attack “upsetting.”
While it remained unclear why Reynolds lashed out, Tisch said most of the people who commit random attacks in the city suffer from a mental health crisis.
“We need to care for these people,” she added. “New York State needs a different approach in caring for and treating people with mental health issues, and it can’t be the police department always being called to do everything.”
Originally Published: August 8, 2025 at 11:34 AM EDT