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Etiquette expert mom fights off attacker who was dressed as a ninja in NYC

"All I knew in that moment was that I needed to protect my child. That was all that mattered."
Courtesy Myka Meier
/ Source: TODAY

A mugger dressed like a ninja learned an important lesson: Don’t mess with a mom.

Myka Meier was walking with her 3-year-old daughter, Valentina, on Monday morning when she was attacked on a New York City sidewalk.

The man, who was in a head-to-toe black ninja costume, wanted the etiquette expert's bag.

“Had I been thinking clearly, I just would have given it to him,” Meier told TODAY Parents. “But I went into self-defense mode. All I knew in that moment was that I needed to protect my child. That was all that mattered."

Myka Meier was walking in New York City with her 3-year-old daughter, when she was attacked by a man dressed in ninja costume.
Myka Meier was walking in New York City with her 3-year-old daughter, when she was attacked by a man dressed in ninja costume.Courtesy Myka Meier

Meier, who takes kickboxing classes online, instructed Valentina to stand back and went into what she calls “fight mode.”

“I was kicking. I was screaming. I didn’t know I was capable of making that much noise,” Meier said. “I fought him off in every way I could.”

Within seconds, Meier had backup.

“Everybody came running to help,” Meier recalled. “There were construction workers and doormen. All these angels chased him down.”

Police arrested Casique Roman, 41, and charged him with robbery, the New York Daily News reported.

At 5-foot-6, Meier thinks she probably looked like an easy target.

“I think he was stunned by how strong I was,” she revealed. “But I trained for this. I was ready. You have to be ready.”

Meier said she hit her head during the attack and has some bruising on her body.

“When I went for x-rays, everyone thought it was interesting that I teach etiquette classes,” Meier said. “But I say this all the time, ‘Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.'"

After the scary incident, Valentina compared Meier to “Elastigirl," her favorite superhero from the animated film “The Incredibles.”

“That’s kind of the silver lining here,” Meier told TODAY Parents. “She’s like, ‘My mommy is strong.’ And that's pretty cool."