Arrest Made After Steve Buscemi Punched in Random Attack While Walking in New York City
An arrest has been made after Steve Buscemi was punched in the face in a random attack while walking around New York City.
On May 8, the 66-year-old Boardwalk Empire actor was hit in the face by a then-unidentified man and was taken to the hospital for bleeding, bruising and swelling to his left eye, his publicist said in a statement to ET.
"Steve Buscemi was assaulted in Mid-Town Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city," the statement read. "He is OK and appreciates everyone’s well wishes."
On Friday, May 17, the NYPD confirmed an arrest in a statement to ET that reads, "Pursuant to an ongoing investigation, [Clifton Williams, a 50-year-old man] was arrested and charged on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 1420 hours within the confines of the 13 Precinct."
Williams is currently being charged with second-degree assault.
The news was first reported by the New York Post. According to the outlet, the Brooklyn-born actor was walking in Kips Bay just before noon on May 8 when the attack occurred.
Steve Buscemi was attacked randomly in New York City last week, his publicist says
The attack comes just two months after Michael Stuhlbarg -- Buschemi's Boardwalk Empire co-star -- was hit in the back of the neck while walking through Central Park in March, the outlet reports. Stuhlbarg, 55, was able to chase down his attacker, who was later arrested.
Just days before that, Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel claimed she was the victim of another random attack while walking around the Big Apple.
At the time, the reality TV star, 53, commented on a TikTok posted by a fashion design student who herself was sharing her assault experience. The fashion design student said in her video that she was walking home when someone randomly punched her.
"This is insane [because] this happened to me a few months ago but I was embarrassed to say," Frankel wrote in a since-deleted comment but captured by Page Six. "I was on the UWS [Upper West Side]. Insane. I was taking video of a bakery."
Steve Buscemi in December 2023
The shocking ordeal with Buscemi happens on the heels of ET confirming that he is joining the season 2 cast of Netflix's hit show Wednesday, with the Grown Ups actor starring as Barry Dort, the new principal of Nevermore Academy. He replaces Gwendoline Christie, whose principal character, Larissa Weems, was killed in the season 1 finale.
The show just recently began production on the second season, which is expected to hit the streamer in late 2024 or 2025.
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