Despite the public outrage, the hateful beat goes on in New York City — as police reported Thursday two more terrible incidents of Asian New Yorkers being attacked by bigots on the street.
The incidents happened amid an ongoing surge of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans across New York City. The NYPD reported on Tuesday that such incidents spiked to an infinite level in March 2021, with 31 incidents reported; zero hate crimes against Asian New Yorkers were tallied by the NYPD during March 2020.
Police said the most recent hate crime happened just after 7:35 p.m. on April 7 in Chinatown, when a female suspect attacked a 25-year-old woman as she talked to a friend while seated at an outdoor café at 279 Grand St.
According to law enforcement sources, the perpetrator confronted the victim and hurled a number of anti-Asian statements toward her. Seconds later, the suspect slapped the victim in the face before fleeing in an unknown direction.
The incident was reported to the 5th Precinct. Cops said the victim refused medical attention.
The NYPD released video footage of the attacker, described as a woman with a dark complexion, short black hair and a thick build, believed to be 35 years of age, standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black tanktop, black pants and white sneakers while carrying a gray coat.
Meanwhile, hate crimes detectives in Brooklyn are looking for the creep who menaced a young couple with words and a piece of wood.
Cops said the attack happened at 7:40 p.m. on March 26 inside the big box retailer at 579 Gateway Drive in East New York.
According to police, the victims — a man and woman, both aged 28 — were shopping when the suspect approached them and uttered anti-Asian statements. The suspect then picked up a piece of wood and threatened to harm them with it, stating, “I’ll cut you!”
But the perpetrator took off seconds later, exiting from the store to an unknown location, authorities noted.
The incident was reported to the 75th Precinct, and later referred to the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force. Neither victim was injured.
The NYPD describes the perpetrator as a man with a dark complexion, a thin build and black, close-cut hair, believed to be 20 to 30 years of age and standing about 5 feet, 9 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and black sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding either of the incidents 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.
