A young New York University student was thrown to the ground and attacked in a random broad daylight assault as she walked to class. 

Amelia Lewis, 20, was walking down Broadway in Manhattan on Monday just before 9:30am when the man crept up on her and attacked her. 

Horrifying footage of the attack shows Amelia, who was wearing headphones, being slapped from behind and then pulled by the hair before she fell to the ground. 

Bystanders looked on in shock as the attack unfolded, before the man made a quick escape. 

The suspect, identified as 45-year-old homeless man James Rizzo, has since been taken into custody and charged with persistent sexual abuse, forcible touching and assault.

Officers are also looking into whether he may be connected to another attack, after Amelia - whose family friend is Megyn Kelly - said the aggressor was identified by NYU staff as being a serial attacker on the campus. 

She said: 'It actually is the guy that has been assaulting many girls around campus, he is a tall white male with long brunette hair and a long brunette beard. 

'He is wearing grey sweatpants and a big black puffer jacket and a blue towel around his neck, so if you see him please call 911 and report him to the police.

'He has done this to so many girls, and this is disgusting. It's honestly a really hard watch.'

She also provided a voice over in which she said the man followed her across the street and specifically targeted her. 

Amelia added: 'You can tell everyone around is literally in shock, these girls don't know what to do, it's so terrible.

'I am a student at NYU, I should not be scared to be walking the street to go to my 9:30am class.

'These people are disgusting and they should not be able to be walking around the street freely, targeting girls and doing this.

'We need to get these people, that is not okay. I am still in shock but I am more enraged that things like this are able to happen in this city. 

'We really need to do something about it because this is unacceptable, you really need to reflect on who you are voting for right now.'

Her last comment appeared to refer to Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani who recently won the city's mayoral race. 

Mamdani, who won't be sworn in as leader of the city until the new year, has proposed to expand the use of violence interrupter programs and mental health teams on the ground to curb such attacks. 

In Mamdani's view, this would reduce the number of police interactions on the street under a new agency titled the Department of Community Safety.

Megyn Kelly reshared Amelia's video to her own X profile, while revealing her connection to the young victim. 

'This college student - a friend of our friend - was just openly assaulted by a man at 9:30am today in NYC on her way to NYU. 

'It’s all on tape below - any help identifying the perp would be appreciated!', the conservative commentator said. 

Following Rizzo's arrest, Kelly congratulated the NYPD for making an arrest, noting that the creep 'allegedly has been assaulting young women on/around campus!'

She added that Lewis 'bravely reported this crime and refused to allow herself to be a victim went public with the story, her friends called it to our attention and all of you put the pressure on so this case wasn’t lost in the shuffle,' and noted that the 20-year-old will be on her show on Wednesday.

NYU spokesperson John Beckman also told DailyMail.com: 'The University is pleased that a suspect has been apprehended in the attack on one of its students that took place Monday morning on a Broadway sidewalk. 

'We take this incident very seriously. We are continuing to offer support to the student, and our Campus Safety Department assisted the victim and worked with the police investigating the incident.'