60 Year Old Woman Assaulted by Four Females - What Were Her Self Defense Options?

On Sunday, November 9th , a 60 year old woman walking from the train station in sleepy, Cedarhurst Long Island, was attacked from behind by four females wearing Halloween masks and hoodies. The community is in an uproar. Why would anyone attack a defenseless 60 year old woman? And she was ruthlessly blindsided by four other women? Since when do these things happen in our neighborhood?

Being that it’s my job to teach people how to defend themselves, I have been approached by my colleagues and students to explain what to do in this situation. Since I have a military background, I imagine that they all expected a commando style, macho, spinning back fist type of response… No my friends. We’ll save the spinning back fist for another day.

Before I move on, please understand that I am in no way condemning the victim. Being in a violent encounter is a very stressful and frightening situation. I am merely using her incident to highlight some survival options available to the average person.  

I will break down my answer into three phases, taking into account what the tragic heroine of the story should have done before, during and after the attack. My advice will be custom tailored for an average 60 year old woman. Of course all of us will be able to benefit regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.

Before the Attack

This incident should have been prepared for well in advance.  2012 FBI crime statistics report (see attached image) that a violent crime occurs in the United States every 42 seconds. That fact begs the question, “what are you going to do about it?” Not everyone has the temperament, physical ability or time to become a black belt. And let’s be clear, a black belt turns into a white belt fairly quickly when four assailants attack from behind and launch a volley of stomps and soccer kicks to the head. Carrying a concealed weapon will no doubt escalate the situation and may also open a legal Pandora’s Box in the aftermath that may very well ruin your life.





In parashat Vayishlach, Yaakov prepares gifts for Esav in anticipation of their inevitable meeting. These gifts are to appease his brother so as to avoid a war. Along those lines, here is a novel idea that may help deescalate the situation and allow the victim to return home to their family in one piece. 

Get yourself an old wallet. Stuff into it at least 30 to 35 dollar bills, some pictures of other peoples’ children (whom you have no connection with and do not live in your neighborhood) and maybe some out of town business cards. Finish it off with a few of those fake credit cards that we all receive in the mail and voila. You have just created your very own “throw away wallet.” It is designed to placate the attacker so that you are left alone with your health intact and to reduce or eliminate the possibility of the attacker later visiting your home to do more violence.  I will dedicate a future article to further explain this life saving decoy.

A few moments before the attack, our heroin’s radar should have detected that trouble was ahead. The assault occurred on November 9th. Yet here she saw three girls wearing hoodies and a fourth wearing a scary Halloween mask. Additionally, public transportation, for whatever reason, tends to attract criminals. And criminals, very often tend to work in groups. Our heroine should have used common sense, maintained her situational awareness and avoided crossing their path.

During the Attack

Our heroine was blind-sided, thrown to the ground and attacked by multiple assailants. The typical untrained response to being thrown onto the ground and kicked is to curl up into the fetal position and whimper until the attacker deems to be merciful and goes away.  Ironically, the fetal position does not protect one’s skull very well. Ideally, she should have immediately assumed a ground defense posture (another topic for a future article) and verbally communicated to her assailants to please take her purse (containing the throw away wallet) and to leave her alone.

Had our heroine been an athlete or (well) trained in self-defense, I would have recommended her getting to her feet as soon as possible, counter attacking and running away. However, our heroine and in fact, most people, are not athletes or well-trained warriors, hence the emphasis on situational awareness and outsmarting the attackers.  

After the Attack

After the attack our heroine should have immediately sought medical attention via 911. The adrenaline triggered by a mugging can mask pain as serious as a knife wound. She then should have tried her best to calm down and remember all the details of her attackers. Things like accents, distinguishing marks and general build.  Thank G-d she backed up her cell phone to her computer or outside server.  So recovering all that critical information won’t be a problem. We all back up our cell phones, don’t we? Assuming she was a bit more tech savvy, her phone has a locate feature on it that may help police track it to the four thuggish girls who attacked her.

Now, unfortunately in this case, her attackers actually obtained her real wallet with driver’s license and possibly other sensitive information like passwords, social security number and home address. She should immediately have home security cameras installed, change all her passwords and perhaps live for some time at friends or family, just in case these girls decide to come to her house and pay her another visit.

I hope the average reader found this helpful. For questions, comments, or to set up seminars or lessons, please contact me at [email protected] or through my website www.shomer360.com

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