A 75-year-old grandmother was viciously attacked in Brooklyn earlier this week when she asked two women to clean up after their dogs. The assault only ceased when a Navy veteran neighbor intervened, as shown in a disturbing video.
Linda Scott was assaulted and repeatedly punched in the face, being knocked to her front lawn by one of the dog walkers shortly after 9 a.m. Monday on President Street near Troy Avenue in Crown Heights, according to Ring camera footage reviewed by The Post.
Even as Scott lay on the ground, the attacker, notable for her pigtails, continued to punch and stomp on her head, as seen in the distressing footage.
Mr. Barnett, 37, a neighbor who had just returned from the gym, noticed the disturbance outside the senior’s home. He described the situation as a “commotion” over dog waste, leading to a heated exchange. Barnett, who now works as a train conductor, spoke about the incident on Friday.
“It seemed like a dispute about the dog poop or whatever….a shouting match back and forth,” Barnett said. “[When] the young lady in the red came around the corner….the way she approached Miss Linda just let me know that she was about to do something to her.”
“I saw the gate was coming up, and then the young lady came up and put her hands [on the victim] and started assaulting her, that’s when I got out [of] the car.”
He managed to pull the attacker off the elderly woman and hurriedly closed the gate as the dogs ran around.
“The victim’s son showed up and she told him, ‘She hit me,’” Barnett said, noting that this seemed to escalate the situation again.
“She was screaming, like it was an agonizing scream like she was in pain, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to it,” Barnett added. “I was just trying to contain the environment and get the people off of her property.”
Scott was admitted to One Brooklyn Health-Interfaith Medical Center and is in stable condition.
Barnett described Scott as a longstanding and respected member of the community.
He expressed hope that the attacker would mature and surrender herself to authorities.
“[This] could have easily been a conversation,” he said. “It’s not looking good for the next generation coming up. Like, that’s not a great example.”
Despite his actions, Barnett refrained from labeling himself a hero.
“If you count that as being a hero, then I guess my naval experience, my law enforcement experience means nothing,” Barnett said. “It’s just doing the right thing, looking out for the neighbor – and not even just the neighbor but looking out for another human being.”
Prior to the attack, one of the women accused Scott of throwing ammonia on her dog, as shown in the video.
Scott admitted to pouring ammonia on a vacant lot next to her home, which is frequently used by dog owners who neglect to clean up after their pets, News 12 reported.
However, her son, Matthew Scott, clarified that his mother only sought to eliminate the odor and never intended to use the cleaning fluid as a weapon.
“The young lady had no business beating me like that,” Scott told the station. “No business beating me or any other older person like that. Anybody. Period.”
The suspect remains at large, police said on Friday.
