Teen charged with Sikh hate crime attacks fatally stabbed in Brooklyn

Teen charged with Sikh hate crime attacks fatally stabbed in Brooklyn
Michelle De Pacina
July 1, 2022
The teen charged in two Sikh hate crime attacks in Queens, New York, was found stabbed to death on a street in Brooklyn.
Vernon Douglas, 19, was found unconscious with a stab wound to the chest at 889 Rockaway Avenue just before 9 p.m. on Thursday, according to the New York Police Department.
Douglas was rushed to the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The teen was reportedly seen in an argument with another man outside a home on Rockaway Avenue and near Lott Avenue before the fatal stabbing. The police found a blade missing a handle near Douglas’s body.
An investigation is ongoing. Investigators have not made an arrest nor publicly identified a suspect. However, police do not believe the suspect was looking to avenge the Sikh men Douglas allegedly previously attacked. 
Douglas was previously charged with alleged hate crimes on April 16 for attacking three Sikh men in the same Queens neighborhood in a span of nine days. 
On April 3, he allegedly punched 70-year-old Nirmal Singh in the face and broke his nose. Singh, who suffered severe bruising, was on his way to the Sikh Cultural Society at around 7 a.m. in Richmond Hill when he was attacked and left bleeding on the ground. 
On April 12, Douglas and his accomplice Hezekiah Coleman, 20, allegedly robbed and attacked two Sikh men, aged 76 and 64, with their fists and a wooden stick.
Both cases are still pending.
Anyone with information regarding the fatal stabbing of Douglas is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or visit crimestoppers.nypdonline.org to submit a tip.
 
Featured Image via Getty Images
Share this Article
NextShark.com
© 2024 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.