Police are searching for big-mouthed bigot who spewed anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks and threatened a man on the Upper West Side in Manhattan last week.
According to law enforcement sources, on July 21 at around 4:50 p.m., the suspect approached a 38-year-old male victim on a commercial block in front of a Key Food supermarket located at 733 Amsterdam Ave.
The suspect began to rattle off a bunch of anti-LQBTQIA+ slurs to the victim, police said. He then wrapped up his hate speech by threatening to cut the victim and simulated a knife slash in the air.
It is unclear right now what, if anything, led up to the hateful altercation.
The victim was not hurt as a result of the incident. Police on Wednesday released a surveillance photo and video of the suspect, who remains at large. He is described as having a light complexion and was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt.
So far, no arrests have been made, but the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.
Anyone with information regarding the incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
According to the latest crime statistics, hate crimes in NYC increased 68% in June compared to the same month last year. There were 17 crimes motivated by sexual orientation in June this year, compared to 15 in June 2023.
