Story highlights
Woman, 47, is in critical condition after being struck on the head by a falling shopping cart
Police say a group of youths pushed the cart off the fourth story of a parking garage
Two 12-year-olds have been arrested and will be charged as juveniles, police say
Woman had been shopping with her teen son at Target in East Harlem on Sunday
A woman is in critical condition after being struck in the head by a falling shopping cart, which police allege a group of adolescents pushed off the fourth story of a parking garage in East Harlem, authorities said Monday.
The 47-year-old woman was shopping with her 14-year-old son Sunday evening at Target, on the ground floor of East River Plaza, police say.
According to police, at about 5:49 p.m. a group of boys near the edge of the fourth-floor walkway connecting a parking structure to the retail center dropped a Target shopping cart over the ledge.
It fell and hit the woman on the head, said Detective Marc Nell, a New York Police Department spokesman. She was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center with severe head trauma, he said.
Her son was not injured, authorities said. The woman’s name has not been released.
Police say they have apprehended two 12-year-old males on suspicion of assault and criminal possession of a weapon (in the form of the shopping cart) and are continuing to investigate.
Nell said the suspects will be charged as juvenile offenders.
Antoine LaFromboise, a spokesman for Target, said the company is “working very closely with law enforcement on their case.”
East River Plaza is home to other well-known retailers in addition to Target, such as Costco, Best Buy, Marshalls and Old Navy, along with many other stores and restaurants.