United Bodegas of America
A mother of three and Bronx bodega worker was left with serious head injuries when a pair of brutes savagely beat her with a hammer over a hookah.
Oralia Perez, 41, was working at A&D Deli Grocery on East 188th Street in Fordham Heights around 10:08 a.m. Saturday when a man and woman entered and demanded a refund for a hookah they purchased the week before, the United Bodegas of America said.
When Perez refused to hand over the money, the man struck her with a sledgehammer.
“While she was facing the woman, the husband came from behind with a sledgehammer and hit her across the head,” UBA spokesperson Fernando Mateo said at a press conference Monday.
“She didn’t know what happened after that,” Mateo added.
Graphic photos show Perez in St. Barnabas Hospital with deep cuts across her face, including a severe gash that caused her left eye to swell completely closed.
Perez, who is originally from Mexico, received 20 stitches and has undergone five CT scans and one MRI, the UBA said.
Photos from the scene also show the sledgehammer abandoned on the floor of the bodega, as well as gruesome blood spatter from the attack.
“I spoke to Oralia as she explained this was an unprovoked attack,” Fernando Mateo said at the Monday night press conference.
“She’s in a lot of pain…She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
The man and woman suspects – who have not been identified – fled the scene and are still at large, according to police.
The pair also made off with three containers of Top Ramen noodle soup, valued at $2.00, authorities said.
The police report did not mention the alleged scuffle over the hookah return.
Perez’s family – including her 16-, 14-, and 1-year-old children – are not speaking out due to fears about retaliation, the UBA explained.
The owners of the bodega are also concerned that the suspects may return and wreak more havoc, the union said.
The attack on Perez was the fourth violent incident involving a bodega worker in just one week, the UBA noted.
Several hours after Perez was injured, a customer at a Queens convenience store was fatally stabbed.
In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul passed new protections aimed at helping frontline retail workers and small business owners combat theft – including a $5 million tax credit for added security measures.
The union, however, said that lip service was not enough.
“Once again we are asking for technology that can stop these attacks before someone else is killed,” Mateo said.
“UBA cannot continue to meet & meet & meet with Pols, we need action not words. We are hoping for the Federal Government to get involved and help us with funding Safe Haven Bodegas for the communities we serve,” UBA President Radahmes Rodriguez added.
“We appreciate the Governor’s intentions but now we need action before someone else dies. Where is the 5 million the Governor promised, it could be saving lives today not tomorrow.”
Dem Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the area where the attack took place, did not immediately return The Post’s request for a comment on the incident.