An Asian woman was harassed on a New York City subway train before being helped by a homeless man on Thursday.
- The man sitting across from her began “spewing random racist crap” while pointing his finger in her face, she described.
- The woman verbally defended herself and told him to leave, reported NBC New York.
- However, the man became more aggressive and moved in closer.
More details: Other than one man who reportedly appeared to be homeless, none of the other passengers in the car came to her aid.
- The unidentified man shouted at the suspect and ran up to scare him away from the woman before anything more could happen. She said she was “very thankful for him.”
- “It was kind of a surprise but kind of not, all at once,” she said, sharing it was the first time she was involved in an anti-Asian incident.
- Earlier this month, an elderly Filipino woman was punched and kicked in broad daylight outside an apartment building in an anti-Asian attack. Surveillance video showed that the staff inside shut the door on her while she was on the ground.
Safety on subways: The New York City Transit has requested more officers on the subway but it is unclear whether that has happened yet.
- Concerned AsAm Citizens of NYC (CAAC NYC) protested and shared information with subway passengers about anti-Asian violence on the transportation system on Wednesday just a day before the incident occurred.
- NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is still looking for the suspect, who is wanted for aggravated harassment.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visit the Crime Stoppers website (crimestoppers.nypdonline.org), download the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or text 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Feature Image via @NYPDTips (left), NBC New York (right)
