Mother bleeds and injured after hammer attack in Bronx bodega

A Bronx mother of three and bodega worker suffered severe head injuries when two thugs brutally beat her with a hammer over a hookah.

Oralia Perez, 41, was working at A&D Deli Grocery on East 188th Street in Fordham Heights around 10:08 a.m. Saturday when a man and woman walked in and demanded their money back for a hookah they had purchased the week before, the United Bodegas of America said.

When Perez refused to hand over the money, the man hit her with a sledgehammer.

“When she faced the woman, the husband came up from behind with a sledgehammer and hit her on the head,” UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo said at a press conference on Monday.

“She didn’t know what happened next,” Mateo added.

In graphic photos, Perez is seen at St. Barnabas Hospital with deep cuts on her face, including a severe gash that caused her left eye to swell completely shut.

Perez, originally from Mexico, received 20 stitches and underwent five CT scans and an MRI, the UBA said.

Photos from the crime scene also show the sledgehammer left on the floor of the bodega and gruesome blood splatters from the attack.

“I spoke to Oralia and she explained to me that it was a motiveless attack,” Fernando Mateo said at the press conference on Monday evening.

“She is in a lot of pain… She did not deserve what happened to her.”

The suspect man and woman – whose identities are not yet known – fled the scene and are still at large, according to police.

The couple also stole three containers of Top Ramen noodle soup valued at $2.00, authorities said.

The police report did not mention the alleged scuffle when the shisha was returned.

Perez’s family – including her 16-, 14- and 1-year-old children – are not commenting because they fear retaliation, the UBA said.

The bodega’s owners are also concerned that the suspects could return and cause further damage, the union said.

The attack on Perez was the fourth violent incident involving a bodega employee within just one week, the UBA stated.

Several hours after Perez was injured, a customer at a Queens supermarket was fatally stabbed.

In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul passed new protections to help retail workers and small business owners prevent theft, including a $5 million tax credit for additional security measures.

However, the union said lip service was not enough.

“We are once again calling for technology that can stop these attacks before anyone else is killed,” Mateo said.

“UBA cannot continue to meet with politicians, we need actions, not words. We hope that the federal government will intervene and help us finance Safe Haven Bodegas for the communities we serve,” added UBA President Radahmes Rodriguez.

“We appreciate the governor’s intentions, but we must act now before anyone else dies. Where is the $5 million the governor promised? It could save lives today, not tomorrow.”

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the area where the attack occurred, did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the incident.