After NYU student Amelia Lewis was attacked on her walk to class, her friend Summer Armstrong immediately sprang into action and played a key role in having the suspect arrested.
20-year-old Amelia was the victim of a brazen attack in Manhattan on Monday, December 1.
The incident sparked massive uproar online after its footage went viral.
Summer Armstrong, a friend of NYU student Amelia Lewis, played a key role in obtaining footage of the attack
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
It was around 9:30 a.m. on Monday when a violent assailant crept up on Amelia Lewis as she was walking down Broadway towards her class.
The assailant struck her out of nowhere, yanked her hair, and ran away, leaving the ambushed victim on the floor.
Sitting in class at the time was her friend Summer, who received a text from Amelia about the brazen attack.
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
For Summer, her friend’s text was a painful reminder of what happened to her a few months back.
The fellow NYU student was the victim of a similar incident in May. And although her assailant was never caught, she was determined to see her friend get justice.
Summer, who was the victim of a similar unprovoked attack, was determined to see her friend get justice
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
“I got a horrible, sinking gut feeling because this has also happened to me, and I was lucky enough to have footage in my case,” Summer said on The Megyn Kelly Show on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, my assailant was not caught, but I knew that footage is key and I knew that it was in front of stores,” she continued. “So, my first thought was, ‘We need to get this footage, and we need to catch this guy.’”
@amelia.lewis506 Please be aware while walking in NYC. help, I hope I’m not being dramatic rn Laughing through the shock rn #nyc #assualt #nyu ♬ original sound – Amelia Lewis
The friend rushed to the scene of the attack and believed the Broadway business, Warehouse Wine and Spirits, might have security footage of the suspect.
“I said, ‘My friend was ass**lted. Please check your footage around this time.’ And they found it,” she said.
The harrowing footage was shared online, sparking widespread outrage on social media, and helped cops nab the perpetrator.
Megyn Kelly, a former Fox News host and host of The Megyn Kelly Show, also shared the video online and added to its virality.
The harrowing footage sparked outrage online and reportedly helped cops nab the perpetrator
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
Amelia joined Summer for the Wednesday interview and said the footage helped put “pressure” on law enforcement agencies.
“I had high hopes” about his arrest, Amelia said.
She said cops were “kind” to her and were “already aware of a man with a blue towel around his neck.”
“But I think your platform — and X — really helped put pressure on them,” she told host Megyn. “I don’t know if this would’ve gotten as much attention without that, or without Summer getting the footage.”
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
The suspect was identified as ex-con James Rizzo, 45, who has a disturbingly long history of criminal activity.
At the age of 17, he faced an attempted m*rder charge after beating and stabbing a man in Brooklyn in 1997.
He has 16 prior arrests and was registered as a level 2 s*x offender after being arrested for forcible touching in 2023.
The suspect was identified as 45-year-old ex-con James Rizzo
Image credits: Megyn Kelly
Following his arrest on Tuesday, cops charged him with persistent s*xual ab*se and forcible touching for the attack involving Amelia.
“[I am] honestly terrified and also grateful at the same time,” Amelia said as she acknowledged James’ criminal history.
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
“I’m so grateful I wasn’t alone on a dark, abandoned street with no people around,” she said on The Megyn Kelly Show.
“And also I’m so thankful that no weapons were involved because this could have been so much worse, knowing now who he actually is.”
“I’m so grateful I wasn’t alone on a dark, abandoned street with no people around,” Amelia said in a joint interview with Summer
Image credits: amelia.lewis506
Days before the attack on Amelia, James committed a similar crime in Manhattan just days earlier.
Cops said the assailant allegedly shoved a 68-year-old woman as she was walking on Fifth Avenue near West 47th Street around 8:45 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
Image credits: Megyn Kelly
The alleged victim, Jana Dianne Brazell, said she was visiting family in the Big Apple when the unprovoked attack took place.
“I was about a step or two behind [my sister-in-law] and out of nowhere this guy appears in my face and starts talking crazy talk, like, ‘Our whole society is a f***ing joke, right?’” she told the New York Post.
James shoved and injured another victim in a similar unprovoked attack on Thanksgiving Day
Image credits: CBS New York
“He stepped back,” she continued. “I thought, thank goodness he’s moving away. The next thing I know, I’m flying in the air and I hit this glass wall at the side of a building. I just slid down.”
The entire ordeal lasted about six seconds and left Jana with a large cut on her forehead.
“That is so scary,” one commented, while another said, “this is the sad reality of a girl living in nyc!”
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