Man Charged With Attacking Steve Buscemi Held in Jail

(USNewsBreak.com) – Actor Steve Buscemi was walking through Manhattan around 11:30 a.m. on May 8 when an attacker violently assaulted him. Someone walked up to him in the Kips Bay neighborhood and punched him in the face. First responders took the actor to the hospital for treatment, and police searched for his assailant. Authorities have now located the man who allegedly assaulted Buscemi and are holding him in jail.

On Tuesday, May 14, police released a photo of the suspect who punched the actor — a surveillance camera caught the assault on video. Three days later, they had a 50-year-old man in custody, identified as Clifton Williams. Authorities charged the suspect with second-degree assault, a felony, and sent him to jail on a $50,000 bond. He faces up to seven years in prison. In this instance, prosecutors consider the crime a felony instead of a misdemeanor because Buscemi is 66, a senior in the eyes of the law.

The man accused of punching Steve Buscemi in New York City was arraigned over the weekend and is being held on $50,000 bond

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Buscemi suffered some eye swelling, bruising, and bleeding after the assault. He told reporters he was otherwise okay but stunned by the attack. He declined interviews.

Police could arrest Williams because they received a call to a scene where he became involved in a dispute with another man near where he allegedly attacked Buscemi. When they arrived, they recognized the suspect and detained him. Prosecutors also charged Williams with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for punching a 22-year-old in the face just minutes before he attacked Buscemi.

As violent as it seems, getting punched in the face in New York City has apparently become a more frequent crime. Female users on TikTok have posted several videos showing people punching women as they are walking around. One of Buscemi’s co-stars on “Empire,” Michael Stulhbarg, also suffered an attack while walking in Central Park. Someone lobbed a rock at him at the end of March. Actor Rick Moranis also fell victim to a random attack in 2020.