A 59-year-old Asian man was attacked and told to go back to his country by a young man while strolling along Madison Avenue on Tuesday night in the latest coronavirus-related hate crime in New York City.
The incident was caught on surveillance footage in East Harlem on Tuesday around 7:50 p.m., ABC7 Eyewitness News reported.
“F**king Chinese coronavirus,” the suspect said before telling the man to go back to his country.
According to the victim, he was kicked in the back, causing him to fall on the ground and injure his knees and hands. The man refused to medical attention, cops said.
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He added that the same suspect spat on his face on Saturday and said the Chinese have coronavirus, according to the police.
The New York Post reported that the suspect is a teenager who has a height of about 5 feet 8 and weighs around 160 pounds.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating both incidents.
Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the recent hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans at an afternoon press conference regarding the coronavirus.
“Right now, we’ve seen particularly troubling instances of discrimination directed at Asian communities, particularly the Chinese community,” de Blasio said. “This is unacceptable.”
“We’ve talked openly and honestly about the fact that too many hate crimes go unreported,” the mayor added. “I am beseeching you all to tell the members of your communities that if they are the victims of a hate crime it must be reported to the NYPD so we can act on it so we can find the perpetrators and there will be consequences so we can stop them from doing it to another person.”
A Korean student in New York City said she was punched in the face by another woman for not wearing a face mask.
“I don’t know why she did that to me. I didn’t even do anything to her. I was just standing at the door, just trying to get into the building,” said the student, who wished to remain anonymous.
