Actor Steve Buscemi was the victim of a random assault in New York City on May 8, 2023. While walking along Third Avenue near East 27th Street in the Kips Bay area of Manhattan at approximately 11:48 am, an unidentified man approached and struck Buscemi in the face, then fled the scene. A witness suggested that a woman was with Buscemi at the time, but she did not see who attacked him. The incident resulted in Buscemi sustaining injuries including bruising, swelling, and bleeding to his left eye, for which he was treated at Bellevue Hospital.
Following the assault, a surveillance image of the suspect was released by the police, showing him wearing a dark baseball hat, blue T-shirt, black pants, and white sneakers. The assailant remains at large, and no arrests have been made regarding the incident. In the aftermath, Buscemi, a New York native and former firefighter, was seen with a concealed black eye behind sunglasses as he passed by a film crew in Manhattan.
Apart from being well-known for his acting in films such as "Fargo" and "Reservoir Dogs," and the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire," Buscemi has been previously assaulted in 2001 during the filming of "Domestic Disturbance." The incident recalled by this recent assault highlights an ongoing issue of random acts of violence in New York City, which have also affected other celebrities and residents in recent years.