Getty Images/Carsten Brandt
On New Year’s Day, 71-year-old Linda Rosa bravely fought back against four teenage girls. PEOPLE reports that Rosa, a retired MTA worker from East New York, was heading to a church service on Jan. 1 when four girls tried to rob her.
According to the New York Post, Linda Rosa got off the No. 3 train just after 6 p.m. and had passed through the turnstile when one of the girls reached for her purse.
And then I thought to myself, Oh, no, this is not going to happen today,” Rosa recalled to the New York Post.
Linda Rosa described the incident, saying one of the teens punched her in the face, knocking her glasses off. Another girl snatched a pouch with her ID and medical records. Rosa then explained that she tried to wrestle the first attacker and kick her, but her leg couldn’t reach her. She further explained that she sensed the hostile teens weren’t done attacking her.
I got an impression in me that she was going to stomp me again, but she was going to aim towards my head, Rosa said.
Furthermore, she decided to take matters into her own hands by pulling one girl down by the braids.
So I got up right away, and with that, I grabbed her braids and twirled them around my right hand, and then I pulled her down. She had her head down. Then the other young lady said, ‘Let her go.’ And I said, ‘Oh, no, Im not letting her go. Linda continued.
Linda yelled for help while holding one girl, then let go, causing the teens to run after she threatened to call the cops.
After the subway attack, Linda Rosa went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church, where members helped her and called the police. She later received treatment for “minor injuries” at Brooklyn Hospital Center.
Since the incident, the New York Police Department has released footage showing the four suspects passing through subway turnstiles before the attack. Police are still seeking help to find the girls.
Rosa has expressed gratitude for not being severely injured, per the New York Post. Additionally, she stated that she holds no ill will towards the teens, believing they were just acting out.
I forgive them. They do not know what they do. They dont know what they did. Its just teenagers acting foolish,” Rosa explained.
