NEW YORK, NY – A parking dispute in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens on Wednesday night escalated into violence when a 51-year-old man allegedly attacked an elderly resident with a baseball bat, according to police.
Authorities reported that Michael Magill got into an argument with a 72-year-old man over a parking spot at the corner of Austin Street and 77th Avenue around 6:50 p.m. The confrontation quickly turned violent, with Magill striking the older man in the head with the bat, police sources said.
The elderly man was attended to at the scene and treated for a head injury. The victim is currently stable, according to police. Magill, who resides only a few blocks away from the incident site, was apprehended on the spot and charged with felony assault, specifically targeting a victim 65 years or older.
This incident has stirred unease among residents, coming on the heels of another violent crime in New York City. Just weeks earlier, a fruit vendor in the Bronx was brutally murdered with a baseball bat by two attackers. Leslie Sanchez, 56, succumbed to his injuries two days after being beaten in what authorities described as an unprovoked attack.
The suspects in the Bronx case, Romel Jarrett, 37, and Terrence Downes, 44, were initially charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault. These charges are expected to be upgraded following Sanchez’s death, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
Both incidents highlight the alarming rise in violent altercations over seemingly minor disputes, raising concerns about public safety and the need for measures to prevent such tragedies.