A married father-of-two has died at hospital four months after he was beaten into a coma during a cell phone robbery in Queens, New York, which police said was carried out by two teenagers.
Mohammad Alam, 72, succumbed to head trauma at St John’s Episcopal Hospital on January 31. He leaves behind his visually impaired wife, who had been in his care for the past 15 years, and the couple’s two children.
The two 16-year-old suspects who were arrested in October 2017 on counts of assault and robbery for allegedly sucker-punching Alam and stealing his cell phone will most likely see their charges upgraded in light of the victim’s passing.
Rest in peace: Mohammad Alam (left), 72, passed away on January 31, four months after he was beaten into a coma (right) during a cell phone robbery in Queens
Mugged: Alam was talking on his phone outside Mim Wireless when a teen snatched the devices from his hand
Alam was talking on his cell outside Mim Wireless store on Hillside Avenue in Queens, New York, at around 6.30pm on September 28, 2017, when a teen ran by him and snatched the device from his hand.
When Alam tried to give chase, an alleged accomplice standing nearby broadsided him across the side of his face.
The blow sent Alam crashing head-first onto the concrete sidewalk.
Witnesses tried to grab the other teen but he managed to break away and flee. The attack in Queens was caught on surveillance video, which was later released by police.
Medics rushed Alam to a hospital in critical condition, where he would remain on life support for the next four months. Doctors told investigators that Alam suffered severe brain damage, reported New York Daily News.
A photo showed Alam lying in a hospital bed with tubes snaking up and down his arms.
On October 3, 2017, police arrested Shyquan Kimble and Jaleel Steele, both 16, in connection to the assault on Alam. They are being held at Rikers Island and are due back in court on March 1.
Two teens were caught on video before and after one of them snatched Alam’s cellphone and the other punched him across the face (pictured above before the attack)
After one of the teens stole Alam’s cellphone he ran away and was caught on video
As Alam tried to chase the teen who stole his phone, another teen decked him in the head, knocking him onto the concrete sidewalk before running away
Alam had moved to the US from Bangladesh about four years ago, his cousin Faisel Hassan told the Daily News last fall.
He had worked as a construction worker in his home country, and also had reportedly played a role in Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistan in 1971.
He didn’t work in the US because he cared full time for his wife — a former surgeon who went blind following eye surgery 15 years ago.