NORTHAMPTON — A 30-year-old man was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital with head injuries that were not life-threatening after an alleged assault and robbery at the bus stop outside the Big Y grocery store Friday morning.
When police responded to a report of the assault at about 7:30 a.m., they found an “incoherent” male victim with lacerations on his head, Police Capt. Corey Robinson said. Officers tracked down the suspect, who a witness saw running near Barrett Street. He was charged with assault and battery and unarmed robbery.
Surveillance camera footage, Robinson said, showed the victim waiting for a bus, when the suspect, a 34-year-old man from West Springfield, approached him.
“It looked like they had a minor conversation initially, and at some point they squared up like they were going to fight. The suspect knocked the victim to the ground,” Robinson said. “It looked like the victim went unconscious — he continued assaulting him when he was unconscious. It appears at some point he turned the victim over and started rummaging through his pockets [and] it appears he stole a small amount of money from the victim, and then the suspect fled the scene.”
While the alleged attack appears to be random, Robinson said police are still investigating the incident. He said he is unsure whether the two men knew another prior to the incident, adding that he does not believe the incident poses a threat to public safety as of 11 a.m. Friday.
