An Asian woman has shared her side of the story after her family and a bystander were attacked in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime in Manhattan last week.
What happened: The incident reportedly occurred on a southbound F train near West 4th St. station at around 8 p.m. on Thursday. The Asian mother and her family, who were visiting New York from Nevada, were yelled at by three women, as seen in a now-viral video.
The incident was filmed by entrepreneur Joanna Lin, who also ended up being attacked. In the video, a woman wearing a white T-shirt charges toward the camera three times. Lin said the woman hit her in the first and second attacks and then dragged her by the hair to the floor and hit her “a few times” in the head in the third attack.
While trying to help Lin, the Asian woman, identified later by news reports as Sue Young, was allegedly attacked by the same woman.
What started it: In screenshots of messages shared by Lin via her Instagram Stories, Young said the incident started after the three women began laughing at her family “out of nowhere.” According to Young’s 11-year-old twin daughters, the women laughed at the way she was sitting. The trio eventually started pointing, which became “difficult to ignore,” according to Young. She decided to laugh with them and “that’s when their demeanors changed and the F-bombs started flying.”
The woman in the white T-shirt allegedly said, “Go back to where you came from, bitch!” Young said she never referred to the women’s race during the incident.
The aftermath: While multiple passengers seemed to have to intervene at the end of the video, the three young women managed to flee in an unknown direction.
Young reportedly suffered bruising and swelling to her head. She also described having a “whiplashy neck.” Meanwhile, Lin reported being “a bit sore on the head and tailbone.”
Suspect wanted: The New York Police Department is offering a $3,500 reward for information leading to the woman in the white T-shirt.
Due to her alleged use of an “anti-ethnic remark,” the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Anyone with information about the woman is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Tips may also be submitted via the Crime Stoppers website or by direct messaging @NYPDTips on X.
