One of the suspects who attacked and robbed two Sikh men in New York City’s Queens neighborhood has been arrested and charged with hate crimes.
Hezekiah Coleman, 20, was previously taken into custody as a person of interest following the Tuesday assault in Richmond Hill.
He has now been charged with one count of robbery and one count of aggravated harassment as well as two counts of robbery and one count of assault classified as a hate crime, according to the New York City Police Department.
Coleman and another suspect, who remains at large, approached and beat the 76-year-old and 64-year-old Sikh men with their fists and a wooden stick at around 7 a.m. on April 12.
The attack occurred nine days after Nirmal Singh, a 70-year-old Sikh man, was brutally beaten in the same Queens neighborhood on April 3.
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“Sikhs are no strangers to hate violence, but the recent string of repeated attacks in the same location is especially disheartening and reprehensible,” Nikki Singh, Sikh Coalition Senior Manager of Policy and Advocacy, said in a statement on April 13. “We continue to stand with all communities who continue to experience this kind of trauma. Targeted hate violence affects us all — not just those who experience it firsthand.”
The NYPD are still searching for other suspects in both Sikh assaults.
Police have released surveillance footage of the unidentified suspect in Singh’s case and offered a reward of up to $3,500 for information leading to the arrest of the man.
The police are asking for anyone with information to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS or directly message @NYPDTips on Twitter.
