A Brooklyn man was arrested on hate crime charges for allegedly assaulting two Asian American New Yorkers in two separate attacks.
Joseph Russo, 27, was charged with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime in both incidents.
According to police, at 7:45 a.m. on March 22 a 32-year-old Asian woman was in front of Ruby and Jenna, located at 1308 Kings Highway, when she was allegedly approached by Russo who grabbed her and pulled her hair. Russo let go of the victim and walked away down Kings Highway.
No words were exchanged between Russo and the victim prior and nothing was stolen. The victim suffered pain to her head and neck but refused medical attention at the scene.
More recently, at 11:15 a.m. on April 5, Russo allegedly approached a 77-year-old Asian man was looking at vegetables for sale in front of J&R NY Supermarket. Police say that Russo allegedly intentionally pushed the victim to the ground and kept walking, with no words exchanged between the two, eastbound on Avenue U. The victim suffered bruising to his left arm but refused medical attention at the scene.
