A Filipina health frontliner from New Jersey died after being randomly attacked by a homeless man in New York City on Friday.
Maria Ambrocio, 58, was walking through Times Square at around 1 p.m on Friday when a homeless mugger suddenly came to her and knocked her down, according to a report from the New York Post.
Ambrosio, an oncology nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, was with her friends when the incident happened.
“Her friend told me to hurry up because her blood pressure is dropping and she is brain dead. She doesn’t have much time, so I have to hurry,” Ambrocio’s younger brother Carlito Spa Maria told the Post.
The victim was brought to the hospital and fought for her life for more than 24 hours but later died.
"Maria’s passing was announced shortly after she was removed from life support a few hours ago. She had been on life support for the head trauma she sustained on Friday afternoon," the Philippine Consulate General in New York said in a statement.
"We reiterate these calls as we mourn our loss but we also ask ourselves: How many more Maria Ambrocios do we have to mourn before the streets would be made safe again?," it added.
Consul General Elmer Cato also urged the authorities to "do what is necessary to make the streets safer".
"We grieve with the family of our kababayan Maria Ambrocio, a health frontliner, who died from her injuries after she was knocked down by a homeless man near @PHinNewYork on Friday. We call on authorities to do what is necessary to make the streets safer," he said in a Twitter post.