New York police on Saturday released photos of a man being wanted in connection with an alleged hate crime against Asians on a subway bound for Times Square.
The suspect used anti-Asian slander before spitting twice at an unidentified 44-year-old woman and her three children, the New York Police Department said in a statement.
“The individual then snatched the victim’s cell phone out of his hand and started kicking it out of the back door of the car, onto the tracks while the train was still moving,” said the NYPD.
The man got off the train at a nearby stop and headed west, the department said. The woman was stabilized in a hospital after suffering unspecified injuries, police said.
The department indicated that the man could face charges of hate crimes.
The attack occurs among several across the country in which Asian Americans appear to have been targeted as a result of their heritage.
Last month, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that hate crimes against Asian Americans in the country’s largest cities soared 150 percent in 2020.
Experts linked the increase to ex-President Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic.
Michelle Acevedo contributed.