A decorated Delta Force vet suffered serious head injuries after being slammed in the head with a brick by an unhinged vagrant with a rap sheet in an unprovoked broad daylight attack.
Hero vet Mark Antal, 54, was standing outside an East Village pilates studio waiting for his young daughters when 44-year-old James Lawson began screaming for him to get off “his street” shortly before 11:30 am on Sunday, according to police and sources.
Lawson then allegedly lunged at Antal and the two got into a scuffle — with the deranged maniac allegedly picking up a brick and slamming it into the victim’s head, police said.
Despite being dazed by the blow, Antal was able to wrestle Lawson to the ground and waited for cops to arrive after bystanders called 911, sources said.
The ugly episode sent both men to the hospital — and left a bitter taste for Antal and his family.
“We are grateful that Mark is alive and concerned about damage to his brain and head,” his wife, Christine, told The Post on Monday. “We are worried about our neighborhood and our children. Our children should not be afraid to be outside on a sunny Sunday morning.”
Lawson was also hurt in the scuffle and is being held at Bellevue Hospital and second-degree assault charges pending an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Records show that Lawson has five prior unsealed arrests, including two felonies.
His latest bust came on April 9, when was charged in two separate incidents — allegedly smashing a glass at a bar on Avenue B and reaching into a car and grabbing the victim’s phone on Second Avenue.
Lawson was arraigned on those charges on April 11 and released without bail. The charges are not bail eligible under the Empire State’s controversial criminal justice reforms.
Meanwhile, Christine Antal said the incident shook up their family — even though they are no strangers to trauma. They run the nonprofit Task Force Antal, which provides humanitarian assistance to victims in some of the world’s most warn-torn regions.
Mark Antal’s military career included 12 years with the US Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta before he retired from active duty in 2015.
“My children recently got back from visiting wounded children and handing out medical supplies in Ukraine, and spent nights in bomb shelters,” Christine Antal said Monday. “Last night they woke up crying and scared to be in their home in NYC and said they feel safer in Kyiv.”
The Legal Aid Society, which represents Lawson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
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