Person charged in random assault on actor Steve Buscemi in New York

Charges in Buscemi assault

Photo: The Canadian Press

FILE - Actor Steve Buscemi attends the premiere of "The Dead Don't Die" at the Museum of Modern Art, June 10, 2019, in New York. A person wanted in connection with the random assault on actor Steve Buscemi on a New York City street earlier this month was taken into custody Friday, May 17, 2024 police said. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A person wanted in connection with the random assault on actor Steve Buscemi on a New York City street earlier this month was taken into custody Friday, police said.

The 66-year-old star of “Boardwalk Empire” and “Fargo” was walking in midtown Manhattan on May 8 when a stranger punched him in the face, city police said. He was taken to a hospital with bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye, but was otherwise OK, his publicist said at the time.

Police did not immediately name the suspect or announce the charges, but said a person was in custody for the assault.

On Tuesday, authorities said they had identified the person who hit Buscemi as a 50-year-old man who is believed to be homeless and released photos of him. Police would not immediately confirm Friday whether the person taken into custody Friday was the man identified earlier in the week.

Buscemi's publicist did not immediately return a message. In previous comments, they said the actor was “another victim of a random act of violence in the city” and that he was OK.

In March, Buscemi’s “Boardwalk Empire” co-star Michael Stuhlbarg was hit in the back of the neck with a rock while walking in Manhattan’s Central Park. Stuhlbarg chased his attacker, who was taken into custody outside the park.