THE BRONX —Howard Thompson and photographer John Frasse were attacked by a baseball bat-wielding man in the Bronx Tuesday while working on a story.
Both of them were struck by the baseball bat, but are doing OK.
They were at a Bronx auto repair shop trying to help someone who had a judgement against the owner.
A sign over the door says “We’re open.” Video shows the attack starting moments after Howard opens the door.
“I stuck my head in and it was like a flash and he came flying out at me,” Howard said.
He and John Frasse quickly backed up as they were swung at. They were forced into the street and Howard worried they’d be hit by a car.
“I had a bruise on my arm. John took a strike to his hip,” Howard said.
This isn’t the first time Howard has been attacked while working on a story.
“For every person that we’ve helped — there have been about 2,000 right now — there’s someone on the other side of the equation that is not happy with other presence,” Howard said.
Police responded to the scene minutes after the attack. They arrested Jose Lebron Pimentel. He’s being held on $5,000 bail.
Howard first visited Lebron Pimentel’s auto shop on Jan. 25. George Stewart had come to Howard for help because Stewart brought his car to Jayden Auto Repair and it was towed while it was there for repairs.
Stewart never received his car back, so he took Lebron Pimente to court and received a $2,000 judgement.
