Man arrested on suspicion of punching multiple women on New York streets

Daquan Armstead, 31, has been charged with eight counts of third-degree criminal assault and harassment. He was arrested by NYPD early Tuesday morning, the New York Post reports.

The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force has undertaken an investigation the incident.

Armstead is accused of punching multiple female victims in unprovoked attacks across NYC, which left women in the city living on edge.

The eight incidents for which he is charged are as follows:

On Feb. 12, Armstead is accused of allegedly approaching a 30-year-old woman and punching her in the head without warning as she was walking down Elizabeth Street around 11:50 am.

On March 24, Armstead allegedly hit a 30-year-old woman in the back of the head on Delancy Street around 2 am.

On March 25, Armstead allegedly punched a 36-year-old woman in the back around 10:15 am while she was walking near Chrystie and Rivington streets.

On April 2, Armstead allegedly punched a 38-year-old woman in the back of the head after he reportedly asked her for $1 but she had no cash on hand.

On April 5, Armstead is accused of attacking two female victims in separate incidents on Delancey Street. He reportedly punched a 25-year-old woman in the head around 12:25 pm. He then allegedly punched a 44-year-old woman in the face five minutes later.

On April 17, Armstead allegedly punched a 27-year-old female NYU administrator in the face as she was walking through Washington Square Park around 10:30 am. Before this assault, he reportedly punched a 24-year-old woman on Stanton Street.

Court records show Armstead has a prior misdemeanor assault charge dating back to 2021.

NYPD said they are investigating multiple other incidents involving women being punched in the face that do not include Armstead as the person of interest, per the NYP.