Ex-con clubs 2 strangers with bat in Astoria, critically injuring one

A Queens ex-con clubbed two men with a baseball bat in Astoria, critically injuring an elderly victim and traumatizing his family.

“The whole family is in shock,” said Kaliope Massalis, 38, whose father, 79-year-old Hristos Massalis, was on one of his daily walks when the attacker clobbered him.

“We can’t believe it happened,” she added. “It’s insane.”

Matthew Lloyd, 36, attacked the first stranger on a walking path in Astoria Park under the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge around 6 p.m. Saturday, cops said. He allegedly struck the 46-year-old victim in the back of the head, then moved on, cops said.

Medics took the victim to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, police said.

About 10 minutes later, Lloyd targeted 79-year-old Hristos Massalis about a mile away on 19th St. near 20th Ave., not far from the park, striking the elderly victim in the forehead, according to police.

Medics took Massalis to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens in critical condition, where he underwent surgery and is on the mend despite the permanent loss of vision in his right eye, according to his family.

The elderly victim was born in Greece, works in the food industry and is a beloved member of the Astoria community, according to his son.

“He is a very kind person,” Steve Massalis told the Daily News. “A great asset to his community. He helped everyone he could. Everyone in the community knows him.”

Massalis was on one of his daily walks when the attack occurred right outside the 19th St. building where he lives. A neighbor attributed Saturday’s violence to rising crime in the neighborhood.

“It’s very bad,” said Bella Sanchez, 61. “Nobody in this building goes out after 8 p.m.”

Although felony assaults have dipped roughly 10% this year over last, crime in multiple major categories — including murder, rape, robbery and grand larceny — are up in the 114th Precinct where the attacks occurred.

Lloyd, who stands a 5-foot-4 tall and lives near the park, was arrested at the scene of the second attack for assault, weapon possession and harassment.

Lloyd was arrested in November for a 2018 gunpoint robbery targeting Queens tattoo shop Sons of Ink on Union Hall St. near Jamaica Ave. on Sept. 13, 2018, cops said.

Lloyd had been working as an artist at the tattoo parlor until his boss noticed he was smoking crystal meth on the job and gave him the boot, the tattoo purveyor said.

“He got fired once I realized he was getting high,” said Jasmine Barnes, 40, who owns Sons of Ink. “He started hallucinating and talking to imaginary people. I put two and two together.”

“I’m in the tattoo industry,” Barnes added. “I know how people act when they’re on drugs.”

Barnes said her former employee stormed the tattoo shops a few days later, breaking in through a window and then pulling a gun on a worker there before nabbing cash.

“He broke into the shop, climbed through a window and tried to pull a gun on one of the people inside the shop,” Barnes recounted. “He ended up taking money out of somebody’s pocket.”

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Lloyd fled the same way he came in, his ill-gotten earnings in hand, Barnes said.

“He just jumped out of the window like he was Superman,” said Barnes. “It was the craziest thing.”

Lloyd was hard-working and well-liked when Barnes hired him. She believes her former employee began using drugs sometime after he started working for her.

“He was a cool guy. He was a great worker. Always there. A team player,” Barnes said. “I think he was good when I hired him and he fell off the wagon.”

Public records show he was convicted of burglary in Queens in 2019 and sentenced to one to three years in prison.

He was also cuffed for criminal mischief in 2018, cops said.

He was awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on the new charges Sunday.

Originally Published: Aug 20, 2023 at 9:54 am