Police in New York City are on the lookout for a suspect who was caught on camera attacking an Asian woman with a hammer on a Manhattan street.
The suspect reportedly approached two women on the street and told them to take off their masks before swinging the weapon, striking a 31-year-old victim, and fleeing on foot. The woman suffered a laceration to her head and had to go to the hospital.
“She was talking to herself, like talking to a wall. I thought maybe she was drunk or something,” the woman, who asked to be identified as Theresa, told WABC. “So we just wanted to pass through her quickly. She saw us and said ‘Take off your fucking mask.’”
Theresa reportedly attended the Fashion Institute of Technology before moving to Taiwan to stay with her parents during the pandemic and recently returning to the city.
“My mom actually told me please be careful, there’s a lot of Asian crime happening in America,” Theresa said.
So far, 47 anti-Asian attacks have been reported in 2021 in New York City, according to NYPD data. One was reported in 2019 while 33 were reported last year.
