Cops charge 16-year-old for allegedly shoving elderly woman down church steps as she was headed to Mass, fracturing her skull

New York City police have arrested a 16-year-old male for allegedly shoving an elderly woman down church steps as she was headed to Sunday Mass, reportedly leaving the victim with a fractured skull.

The suspect also stole her purse, which had $300 cash in it, as well as her cell phone and car keys — which he promptly used to steal her car, WNYW-TV reported. The juvenile is facing charges of robbery, assault, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property, the station said.

What's more, police told WNYW the 16-year-old suspect has multiple felony arrests, including robberies of women, on his record.

What's the background?

Surveillance video shows the victim just feet from the front door of Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in the Briarwood section of Queens, WNBC-TV reported. The suspect is seen on video following the 68-year-old woman up the other side of the steps before meeting her on the top step, then shoving her backward. The victim landed on her head, the station said, after which the assailant appeared to rifle through her pockets and take off with her valuables.

"Horrible. I could not believe my eyes, seeing what he did to this lady," Rev. Konstantinos Kalogridis of St. Demetrios told WNBC. "She was coming to church to pray, to participate. I don’t know what kind of a person this is but evil. Pure evil.”

The family of the victim — identified as Irene Tahliambouris — told the New York Daily News she was so badly injured that she didn’t recognize her loved ones for days.

While in a hospital intensive care unit, Tahliambouris is showing signs of improvement, the Daily News added.

“She’s still recovering. Yesterday she started recognizing us,” Daniel Coffaro Hill, 19, whose brother and Tahliambouris’ niece share a child, told the paper Thursday. “She was brushing her hair today, really slow, but she’s in her right mind. She knows who we are now.”

Hill added to the Daily News that her stolen car — a 2006 Nissan Altima — was recovered about three miles away.

'This lowlife is off our streets for now'

Coffaro Hill also took to social media to express his outrage.

"This lowlife is off our streets for now, and we are hoping the system will actually do its job this time. We’re tired of seeing criminals walk free because of our soft on crime laws," he wrote. "This thug is another example of how petty criminals feel bold enough to escalate their crimes, knowing they’ll likely get off with a slap on the wrist. Despite this, there seems to be a lack of urgency from both Albany and NYC to implement the necessary legal reforms to ensure these individuals are held accountable."

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell shared similar sentiments: "Why is this happening? This was avoidable! What part of the process broke down and allowed this to happen???? More to come on this, trust me. To all the stakeholders, now is the time, enough already!!!!"

Anything else?

There are conflicting reports in regard to the victim's condition. WNYW reported she was in stable condition, while the New York Post, citing her family's GoFundMe page, indicated she was in critical condition.

NYC church attack: Teen arrested for allegedly shoving woman down stairsyoutu.be

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