14 DAY TRIAL // An impersonator of the Cookie Monster Sesame Street character, making a living off taking pictures with tourists, was arrested for shoving a toddler upon being denied payment for posing for a photo.
The incident has occurred in Times Square, New York where several others dress up like Hello Kitty, Elmo or Disney characters.
WABC lists 33-year-old Osvaldo Quiroz-Lopez as the man in the Cookie Monster getup. He approached a couple and their two children and offered to take part in a photo op, in exchange for a donation.
Parmita Kurada described her and the kids being left alone with the man after her husband left to withdraw cash from an ATM machine.
The Connecticut mom detailed how Mexican native Quiroz-Lopez became impatient and started to shout and use foul language.
"He cursed at the kids, both of them, and I was shocked. Even when he's screaming and yelling at me, 'Why are you doing this? You just have to wait a few minutes.'"
According to NY Post, he then attacked her two-and-a-half-year old son Samay, pushing him and causing him to fall.
"Even without my permission, he just comes and picks up Samay," Kurada recalls.
"Why be rude to someone for a dollar or two? It's just shocking. I don't know if that guy was drunk. Why would someone behave like that?" she adds.
Prompted to give her opinion on the assault, Samay tells reporters that he is not fond of the Cookie Monster anymore.
"Do you like Cookie Monster?" he is asked.
"No. Not anymore. I like Elmo," he responds.
"I'm here for the weekend. They accost you outside of Toys R Us and they chase you down the street," another tourist notes for NY Daily News.
Quiroz-Lopez has been arrested for reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child and booked at the Midtown North police station.