MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A man was arrested for allegedly punching a 9-year-old girl inside Grand Central Terminal on Saturday morning, according to the MTA.
Jean Carlos Zarzuela, 30, was charged with assault. Additional charges are pending, the MTA said.
The incident happened at the dining concourse around 11:49 a.m. The MTA said the girl, from the Bronx, was standing with her mother when Zarzuela approached the two without warning and punched the child in the face.
The girl suffered from dizziness and pain, according to the MTA. She was taken to Tisch Hospital, according to officials. She is expected to recover.
Zarzuela is known to MTA police, officials said.
“It doesn’t make any sense that this guy – who recently was released after being charged with randomly punching someone else and breaking that victim’s nose – should be back in a public space where he can attack others, especially children,” MTA Communications Director Tim Minton said. “The people responsible for the criminal justice system need to learn from this episode before more innocent people become victims.”
The incident is at least the second violent attack at Grand Central Terminal’s dining concourse within the last several months. Two teenagers were stabbed inside the dining concourse on Christmas, according to the MTA.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
