NYPD announced on Thursday that they have arrested a man seen on a viral video shoving an elderly Asian woman in Flushing, Queens.
As reported by the Queens Daily Eagle, Patrick Mateo, 47, was arrested after photos and videos of the attack went viral on social media as an anti-Asian hate crime.
Yesterday, this incident went viral on social media & the community came through in response, sending a lot of good information to our @NYPDTips hotline.
Today, our @NYPDDetectives took that information & apprehended the suspect.
Thank you to everyone who lent a hand. #OneNY https://t.co/FHFebCaDFy pic.twitter.com/f3TIi3c6nr
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 18, 2021
Police said Mateo has been charged with assault and harassment, but not with bias offenses.
NextShark previously reported that Mateo called the woman multiple racial slurs and shoved her while she was waiting in line at a bakery on Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing, Queens on Wednesday.
The woman hit her head on the concrete and passed out on the floor. She was treated at Booth Memorial Hospital, police said.
The woman’s daughter, Maggie Cheng, shared images of Mateo and details of the attack on Facebook and Instagram, calling for a social media manhunt of Mateo.
View this post on Instagram
ABC7 New York reporter CeFaan Kim shared an exclusive video of the surveillance footage of the attack.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: 52-year-old Asian woman violently shoved yesterday in Flushing, Queens. Witness says assailant threw box of spoons at her, yelling slurs before he shoved her. She blacked out, needed stitches on her forehead. Tonight at 11p #StopAsianHateCrimes #ProtectOurElders pic.twitter.com/39FGzlKT7I
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) February 18, 2021
After the arrest was made, Cheng wrote another Instagram post thanking the community for raising awareness on anti-Asian crimes.
View this post on Instagram
Do you have a hate incident to report? Help us document the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans by going to STOP AAPI HATE to report an incident. Please stay safe out there.
Feature Image via @mccvx (left), @CeFaanKim (right)
