An Asian man was pushed to the ground and beaten by a brass-knuckled stranger in Queens, police sources said Monday.
The incident happened around 5:30 a.m. on Saturday when the attacker left a gray sedan at 32-25 38th Street in Long Island City and pushed the 61-year-old victim to the ground.
The victim tried to fight back and hit his attacker, but was subsequently hit in the right eye with brass knuckles, the sources said.
The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital and got stitches. His backpack was stolen in the attack, police sources said.
The police could not immediately say whether the Task Force Hate Crime was investigating the crime.
The assault comes amid a wave of biased crimes against Asian men and women in the city and beyond. In response, the NYPD has increased the number of patrols in communities with a large Asian population.