A 68-year-old Sri Lankan man was riding the subway in Lower Manhattan on Friday when another passenger shouted racial slur and punched him in the head, leaving him bloody and in critical condition.
On Saturday morning, a 66-year-old man of Asian descent was punched in the face on the Lower East Side.
Then, on Sunday, three more attacks took place, the police said: One woman of Asian descent was thrown to the ground in Midtown, another was hit in the face by a metal pipe on the Lower East Side and a third was punched twice in the face after she participated in a demonstration at Union Square in support of Asian American victims with their daughter.
The attacks around New York City over the weekend, taking place with hundreds of protesters gathering in several protests to call for an end to such attacks, were more examples of violence directed at Asian Americans in the midst of a new wave of xenophobia that emerged during the pandemic.
The attacks underscored the feelings of fear and vulnerability that seized the Asian American community, even before a shooting in the Atlanta area last week left eight dead, including six women of Asian descent.
Katie Hou, 37, who is Chinese-American and was attacked on Sunday afternoon after attending the demonstration in Union Square, said in an interview that she was recovering and hoped her meeting would not scare other Asian Americans.
“People need to be vigilant about their safety, but at the same time, we need to do something to prevent this from happening again,” she said.
Police said they were investigating at least five different attacks between Friday and Sunday, and three people were arrested in connection with three of them.
But much is still not known about the victims or the perpetrators, at least two of whom seemed to behave irregularly before the incidents.
In the attack on the subway, the man who was arrested, Marc Mathieu, posted a long and inconsistent video on Facebook the morning of the attack, in which he spoke unintelligibly about the violent security forces working on the Staten Island ferry, among other disconnected topics .
The man who attacked the woman after Sunday’s demonstration lowered his pants and exposed himself to witnesses and shouted at passers-by, saying they were going to jail, according to a witness to the attack.
Both cases are being investigated as hate crimes, police said. But the criminal justice system faced challenges to definitively prove racist motives in apparently anti-Asian crimes. Some advocates have pointed out gaps in the laws that govern hate crimes.
Recognizing the wave of violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday promised that the city would increase police presence in Asian communities and encouraged people to report crimes.
“It disgusts and irritates me, and we are going to deal with it aggressively,” he said at a news conference. “I want everyone, in whatever way they can, to help support our Asian American neighbors, speak for them, help to report anything you see.”
While it is difficult to measure the extent of recent violence against people of Asian descent, in part because many crimes go unreported, the number of police investigations into hate crimes has increased this year, compared to the same period last year.
Police commissioner Dermot F. Shea, during an interview with Pix11 on Thursday before the recent attacks, said the department was investigating 10 anti-Asian hate crimes reported as of mid-March, compared to none in early 2020. before the pandemic reached New York.
The department recorded 29 anti-Asian attacks last year, including 25 that investigators believe originated from anti-Asian sentiment and the perception that the victim was carrying the coronavirus, according to police statistics released in January.
The Police Department created a unit last year under its hate crime task force that focuses specifically on hate crimes against people of Asian descent.
“It is very important that we find people who do this and get them off the streets,” said de Blasio on Monday.
George O’krepkie, a witness to the attack, said the attacker threw what appeared to be a crumpled newspaper at the victim before attacking him and shouting racial slur.
“He was on top of him,” he said. “Within seconds, there was blood everywhere.”
The victim was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in critical but stable condition. It was not clear whether he had been released, but a man who answered the phone number listed for the victim declined to comment.
Increased attacks against Asian Americans
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- Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were killed in shootings at massage parlors in Atlanta. The suspect’s motives are being investigated, but Asian communities in the United States are on alert because of an increase in attacks against Asian Americans in the past year.
- A torrent of hatred and violence against Asian Americans in the United States began last spring, in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Community leaders say the prejudice was fueled by the rhetoric of former President Trump, who referred to the coronavirus as the “China virus”.
- In New York, a wave of xenophobia and violence has been exacerbated by the economic consequences of the pandemic, which has dealt a severe blow to New York’s Asian-American communities. Many community leaders say that racist attacks are being ignored by the authorities.
- In January, an 84-year-old man from Thailand was violently thrown to the ground in San Francisco, resulting in his death in a hospital two days later. The attack, captured on video, became a rallying cry.
Mathieu was indicted on Monday on a second-degree assault charge, and prosecutors, who determine whether someone should accuse someone of hate crime, said they were investigating whether the attack was such a crime.
Mr Mathieu’s relatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Mathieu lawyer declined to comment.
Police did not release the name of the man they believe attacked a man on the Lower East Side on Saturday. This attack is also being investigated as a hate crime.
On Sunday, Hou, who works in accounting, said he took his 7-year-old daughter to a rally in Union Square to learn about racial tensions in the United States, especially after the shooting in Atlanta. She said the two left the rally around 11:30 am, when a man walked up to Ms. Hou and asked for a sign that said: “Hate has no peace” and “Racist = psychopath”.
She said she gave him the signal because she thought he wanted to protest. But he broke it on the floor, she said. While she tried to confront him, he punched her twice in the face, she said, but the two did not exchange words.
DeVonn Francis, 27, who witnessed the attack, said the man started shouting at people, saying they were going to prison. Mr. Francis and others followed the man to a nearby subway station, where he exposed himself before getting on the train and leaving.
Hours later, on Sunday, a 41-year-old woman of Asian descent was walking in Midtown on West 31st Street when she was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground, police said.
Patricia Melendez, 37, was arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct. It was not clear whether Ms. Melendez had a lawyer, and her relatives could not be reached for comment.
The severity of the victim’s injury was unclear, but police said they were investigating the attack as another possible hate crime.
Still late Sunday afternoon, a 54-year-old woman of Asian descent was walking down the Lower East Side when a man confronted her and hit her in the face with a metal pipe. Police did not reveal the victim’s name, but said she suffered a laceration on her nose and was taken to a nearby hospital.
Police arrested Elias Guerrero, 38, on several charges, including hate crime, resistance to arrest and harassment.
Guerrero’s relatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. It was not clear whether he had a lawyer.
Ashley Southall and Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting, and Susan Beachy contributed research.