A teenage exchange student from China was slashed in the face while walking to school Wednesday, December 16, morning, according to police.

The 16-year-old girl was walking on 13th Ave. near 147th Street around 8:15 a.m., on her way to Whitestone Academy, when an unidentified man attacked her from behind – groping her before slashing the girl twice in the face with a box cutter, leaving a gash from her ear to her throat.

Neighbors and local workers said a homeless man known to have threatened passers-by in the past had been lurking around the area earlier in the morning.

The victim, an exchange student from China whom the police did not publicly identify, was taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center with wounds that Chief Boyce said were not considered to be life-threatening.

The attacker, who was wearing a surgical mask, surgical gloves and a black hat during the attack, has not yet been apprehended, the NYPD tells PEOPLE early Thursday, December 17.

Surveillance video shows the suspect jogging behind the victim as she walks on the sidewalk.

Both the suspect and victim move out of the frame for a moment, and then the video shows the suspect fleeing in the other direction.

Investigators are working their possible way through the language barrier as community leaders do their best to help the victim and the victim family.

"There's no excuse for a young girl who's going to school to be attacked, and they shouldn't feel fearful," state Assemblyman Ron Kim said. "We want to make sure they feel comfortable, just working with us, and trying to catch this assailant."

The girl victim was treated at LIJ Children's Hospital. An employee there told the Post that the injuries could have been much worse.

She has been living in the country for eight months. The victim sister and brother were with her at the hospital.