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NYPD Searching For Man Who Tried To Drag Subway Rider Off Train In Anti-Asian Attack
By
Sydney Pereira
Published May 4, 2020
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NYPD
By
Sydney Pereira
Published May 4, 2020
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A 30-year-old subway rider was attacked by another man who made racist statements towards him and tried to drag him off the train Sunday in Midtown, according to the NYPD.
About 5:30 a.m. Sunday, the suspect grabbed the man by his right wrist and shoulder and tried to take him off a northbound 4 train near Lexington Avenue and 59th Street, according to police.
An NYPD official told Gothamist the suspect said, "Hey, China man, you're infected, you need to move to a different car" and said he was going to "beat this Chinese n-word up."
The straphanger was not injured from the attack and declined medical attention. The suspect ran off.
Police are searching for the man, who was pictured in an image released by the NYPD wearing a black and white ball cap and black T-shirt and jacket and holding a blue mask.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
Sunday morning's attack comes as discrimination against Asians is increasing in NYC during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the virus's origin in China, though early research suggests the novel coronavirus spread to the U.S. from Europe. Last Sunday, a Queens woman had her phone knocked from her hand in an anti-Asian attack. The city's Human Rights Commission has launched a COVID-19 response team to address human rights violations related to the virus.
Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website, or on Twitter.
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Sydney Pereira
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