Hammer-wielding man held without bail after chasing after woman into Jewish school in Elmhurst, where he assaulted a youngster and bit an employee: DA

While there, he shoved an 8-year-old boy headfirst into a fence and bit an employee. Shaleek Brunson, 42, of the Louis Pink Houses in East New York, was arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with five counts of assault in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of assault in the third degree, menacing, criminal trespass and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to the charges, at approximately 11 a.m. on July 28, Brunson approached a woman outside 90-02 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst and chased her while swinging a hammer. She ran for approximately a quarter mile, eventually seeking refuge in a fenced-in area of the Jewish Institute of Queens located at 60-05 Woodhaven Boulevard. Brunson followed her onto the school property, pulled on the front doors then pushed into the fenced-in schoolyard, where an 8-year-old boy was standing. The defendant pushed the boy into the fence causing his head to strike the fence. The boy sustained a laceration to his forehead. Brunson then ran into the school and bit a school employee who held on to Brunson until police arrived on the scene and took Brunson into custody.

EMS transported the injured youngster to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. He received six stitches to close the laceration on his head. The employee was treated at an area hospital for sustained redness and substantial pain from the bite to his hand.

The investigation was conducted by police from the 112th Precinct and the hammer was recovered at the scene.

“As alleged, this hammer-wielding defendant terrorized a woman walking down a Queens street, causing her to fear for her life and run nearly a quarter of a mile to get away from him and toward a local school,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Once on school grounds, defendant Shaleek Brunson attacked a child outside the building and an employee inside.”

Queens Criminal Court Judge Sharifa Nasser-Cuellar remanded Brunson into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on Aug. 3. If convicted, Brunson faces up to 14 years in prison.

“This daytime assault shattered the sense of safety and security for everyone connected to this school and neighborhood,” Katz said. “I thank the brave first responders who apprehended this defendant before he could harm another person.”