NYC Woman Stabbed, Punched By Masked Attacker During Early Morning Jog in Prospect Park

A 26-year-old woman was randomly assaulted while jogging in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park last week by an assailant in a “Darth Vader-like mask,” law enforcement sources told The Post.

The victim, identified as Avery Catherine Lorio, a dietician originally from Arkansas, was jogging near South Lake Drive around 5:15 a.m. on Sept. 17 when the masked attacker approached her. Lorio said the suspect got uncomfortably close before launching into a flurry of punches and stabbing her once in the back.

“It was a Darth Vader-like mask, all black, and he just started hitting me,” Lorio recounted. “After a few punches, I told him to ‘F–k off, leave me alone,’ and he just ran away.”

The attacker, clad in all black clothing, fled the scene. Lorio initially didn’t realize she had been stabbed until she noticed bleeding. She later treated her wound at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where she works as a dietician.

Lorio described feeling frustrated that her routine has now been disrupted. “I’ve kind of adjusted my routine so I’m running in the afternoon, in the middle of the day, instead of when it’s still dark outside … which makes me angry, that I feel unsafe,” she said.

The young nutritionist, who also works with New York Common Pantry and plans to run the NYC Marathon in 2026, hopes the attacker is caught quickly. “People shouldn’t go around hitting other people or stabbing other people,” she said. “I still want to be able to run at 5 in the morning if I want to. I want to be able to live my life the way I want to.”

As of Friday, police had made no arrests but continue to investigate. Lorio praised the NYPD for being “really great” in handling her case despite limited details about the suspect, who remains unidentified due to the full-face mask.