2 Asian Americans injured in back-to-back stabbing, punching on NYC’s subway stations
By Carl Samson
Two Asian Americans were targeted in separate violent attacks on New York City’s subway stations this week.
The attacks: The first incident occurred at the 34th Street-Herald Square station in Midtown Manhattan at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Iqbal Ahmed, a 76-year-old Pakistani American, was heading home from work when a man demanded money and stabbed him in his left shoulder, according to the New York Daily News.
The second incident occurred at the 23rd Street station in the Flatiron District at around noon on Tuesday. Gladys Chen was standing on the N/R/W train platform when a woman randomly struck her in the face, causing a contact lens to pop out from her eye, ABC7 News reported.
The aftermath: Ahmed, who was stabbed inches away from his heart, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. David Trotman, 38, who has been linked to multiple assaults in the city, was arrested on Monday.
Chen, who believes her attacker was “mentally ill,” suffered a bloody nose. Aside from the tenderness that lingered after, she told ABC7 News about feeling “moments of intense rage” over the incident.
What’s next: Ahmed remains at the hospital as doctors worry about his lungs, according to NBC New York. He organized a GoFundMe page to ask for help covering his medical expenses.
Trotman, whose rap sheet dates back to at least 2017, is facing multiple assault charges. He is also accused of groping a 21-year-old woman near Wall Street and William Street in Lower Manhattan on July 12, as per the New York Post.
Meanwhile, Chen’s assailant is understood to be at large. Police reportedly described the suspect as a white woman standing 5 feet and 4 inches, weighing 180 pounds with brown hair that was in a ponytail.
Chen and her sister were the only Asians on the platform at the time, as per ABC7 News. Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
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