Aiexpress – An insane man with a lengthy criminal record is apparently targeting female doctors and nurses in the Bronx, with at least four incidents reported in the last five years, according to The Post.
According to authorities and documents, Edward Johnson, 57, an illegal immigrant believed to be from the Caribbean who arrived in the United States more than a decade ago, has been arrested 23 times on gun possession charges. Since his arrival in the United States, he has had 42 further arrests sealed.
He skipped his supervised release and is now on the run, according to authorities, and he has a hazardous propensity for attacking female healthcare personnel who attempt to treat him.
“Every time he goes to the hospital, he beats up a nurse or a doctor,” an NYPD source stated.
According to sources, he has committed four such attacks at three Bronx hospitals since 2019, with Colleen Leahy, an emergency department doctor at St. Barnabas, serving as a repeat victim. She informed the police that he attacked her in July 2022 and again in September of last year.
“I’m afraid every day at work—every day,” said Leahy, 28, who has lost 20 pounds since the September beating due to her concern about his anticipated return.
Her mother is also afraid.
“I’m afraid my daughter will become the next Laken Riley,” Eileen Leahy said, referring to the Georgia nursing student who was reportedly murdered by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela six months after being released from a child-endangered arrest in Queens.
The hospital attacks began in December 2019, when Johnson was arrested on assault charges after hitting a 45-year-old female doctor in the mouth and a 61-year-old female nurse in the chest at Albert Einstein in Morris Park.
His most recent arrest occurred on January 13 at Jacobi Medical Center in Pelham Gardens, where he allegedly socked a 26-year-old nurse in the eye as she attempted to take his blood pressure, according to police. Johnson was charged with assault after the unidentified nurse was left with a bruised and swollen eye.
Last month, a warrant for his arrest was issued after he violated his supervised release by failing to cooperate. Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, stated that the case is currently being presented to a grand jury in order to secure an indictment against Johnson.
Johnson allegedly attacked Leahy at St. Barnabas on July 16, 2022, while the ER doctor, who had only been on the job for two months, attempted to care for him. Authorities say he hit her in the right eye, seriously injuring it.
He refused to provide his identity to the police, but he was eventually charged with second-degree assault and hurting a healthcare professional. He spent eight months in prison, but the specifics of his release are unknown.
Leahy claimed an assistant district attorney working for Clark called her in April 2023 and stated that the office will not pursue the matter to trial because it does not want to “hurt [Johnson’s] immigration status” and believes his eight months as a detainee were sufficient.
However, O’Shaughnessy stated that Johnson’s immigrant status had no impact on the decision.
She claimed he accepted a plea deal to the lower charge of attempted assault, which resulted in no additional jail time, only when Leahy declined to pursue the issue further in court. She further stated that Leahy was granted an order of protection against Johnson, which is still in place.
However, on September 18, 2023, Johnson returned to St. Barnabas and allegedly kicked Leahy in the head as she and a male coworker attempted to insert a needle into his arm, according to investigators. Leahy also alleged he had assaulted another female nurse at the hospital hours before.
No arrests were made, but Leahy submitted a police report two days later, recording the attack, which she claimed caused headaches, according to NYPD sources.
“It’s infuriating that he keeps doing this to healthcare workers—eespecially women—aand then lets go,” Leahy said in a statement. “They had him in custody multiple times, so why is he being let go to attack other people, other healthcare workers?”
