The New York City Police Department is seeking the public’s help in identifying a man who was caught on video repeatedly kicking a 65-year-old Asian American woman as witnesses seemingly stood by.
Police described the incident as a “hate crime assault.”
The attack occurred Monday at around 11:40 a.m. local time in front of an apartment building in Midtown Manhattan. Police released surveillance footage that shows the unidentified man approaching the woman on the sidewalk and kicking her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. The suspect then kicks the woman in the face multiple times while making “anti-Asian statements toward her” before casually walking away, police said.
The video also shows people inside of the building lobby who appear to stop what they are doing to watch the attack unfold. One of them then shuts the door as the suspect walks away and the woman is left on the ground.
The Brodsky Organization, the company that owns the building, announced in a statement Monday that the “staff who witnessed the attack have been suspended pending an investigation in conjunciton with their union.” The company said it “is also working to identify a third-party delivery vendor present during the incident so that appropriate action can be taken.”
“The Brodsky Organization condemns all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia and violence against the Asian American community,” the company added.
The woman suffered “serious physical injury” and was hospitalized in stable condition, police said.
The New York City Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.
Also on Monday, another individual was captured on cellphone video violently punching and choking an Asian American man on a subway train in Brooklyn. The New York City Police Department said it “is aware of this video and is investigating.”
Anyone with information regarding either incidents is urged to call the New York City Police Department’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
It’s the latest in a spate of attacks targeting Asian Americans in New York City and across the nation. The coronavirus pandemic and its suspected origins in the Chinese city of Wuahn is cited as having led to a fresh onslaught of anti-Asian discrimination in the United States that has waged on for over year.
From March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021, there were more than 3,795 hate incidents, including verbal harassment and physical assault, against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization that tracks such incidents.
On March 16, a gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, in three separate shootings at spas in the Atlanta area. Rallies have been held in dozens of U.S. cities in recent weeks calling for an end to anti-Asian violence.
Source: Read Full Article
