An Asian-American woman in New York City was traveling to a protest against anti-Asian violence when she became the victim of such crime – a man allegedly assaulted her on the street for no apparent reason other than her race.
The 37-year-old woman was walking in lower Manhattan near midday on Sunday, on her way to a Columbus Park rally against anti-Asian hate crimes, when a man took her sign and tried to put it in a garbage can, police said. He then stomped on the sign. When the woman asked him why he did it, he allegedly punched her in the face twice with a closed fist.
WANTED for HATE CRIME ASSAULT : On Sunday March 21, 2021 @ 11:37 A.M. in the vicinity of 51 Astor Pl. @nypd9pct during an Anti-Asian Violence Protest , a protester carrying anti violence sign was approached by a male suspect and assaulted . Any info call us @ 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/FBMxOdvqgd
The woman was treated at a nearby hospital for her wounds, including cuts and bruising on her lip and a sprained ankle. The attack happened in full view of the victim’s young daughter, who started crying when she saw her mother put on a stretcher, according to a local news report.
A photo from the scene showed the girl sitting on a chair and holding her protest sign while police spoke to her mother. “You could see she was just numb,” a witness told the Gothamist. “At one point, a woman approached her and gave her a cookie.”
The alleged attacker fled into a subway station at Astor Place. He was described by police as 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, with a medium complexion, slim build and black hair. New York City’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the case.
Parts of the US — the San Francisco Bay Area and New York, in particular — have seen a wave of unprovoked attacks on people of Asian descent in recent months. New York City reportedly had 28 racially motivated attacks on Asians last year, up from just two in 2019.
One of this year’s ugliest New York incidents occurred on February 3, when a 61-year-old Filipino-American man was attacked on a crowded subway car as he headed to work. A black man repeatedly kicked Quintana’s tote bag, then allegedly slashed his face from ear to ear with a box cutter after the Asian man complained. Quintana had to seek help on his own, as none of the by-standers assisted him or called for an ambulance, and he received about 100 stitches to close his wound.
In response to the knife assault, anti-racism activists in New York held a rally against white supremacy, demanding justice for Quintana.
