The NYPD has opened a hate crimes investigation into the recent group assault of a 32-year-old woman by six suspects who yelled anti-Asian statements and beat her up near a Greenwich Village subway station apparently because she didn’t wear a face mask.
Police released images Thursday morning of four of the six assailants involved in the Dec. 17 attack, which occurred at 1:45 p.m. on board an A train near the West 4th Street station, below the corner of 6th Avenue and West 4th Street.
According to law enforcement sources, the six perpetrators confronted the 32-year-old woman while on board a Brooklyn-bound A train. They got into a verbal dispute with her after seeing that she wasn’t wearing a mask; amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTA requires all riders to wear a face covering while on board subways or buses.
The exchange turned racist, cops said, when the group members began making anti-Asian statements “relative to the coronavirus” at the woman.
Seconds later, authorities noted, the group went on the attack, punching the woman multiple times before fleeing the train in an unknown direction.
Officers from the 6th Precinct and NYPD Transit Bureau 2 responded to the incident. The victim suffered bruises and pain, but refused medical attention at the scene.
Police described the four photographed suspects as follows:
- A woman with a medium complexion and dark-colored hair, who wore a camouflage jacket with a fur hood and a gray faux fur head wrap.
- A woman with a dark complexion who wore a black jacket and a blue hat.
- A woman with a dark complexion and long braided hair, who wore a black jacket and a turtleneck sweater.
- A man with a dark complexion who wore an orange hooded sweatshirt and a red mask.
Cops said that the other two attackers were men, but provided neither a description nor photos of them.
The case is being handled by the NYPD Hate Crimes Bureau.
Anyone with information regarding the suspects’ whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
