NYPD chases six suspects who punched 32-year-old woman for not wearing a mask while spitting out ‘anti-Asian comments about COVID-19’ on the subway
- Police are looking for six suspects who beat a 32-year-old woman and said ‘anti-Asian comments about coronavirus’ to her in a subway
- The incident took place on December 17 at 1:45 PM
- The group confronted the victim in an A train heading south at the West 4th Station
- They allegedly confronted her for not wearing a mask, made comments that were ‘anti-Asian’ regarding COVID-19 and punched her in the face
- Over the weekend, police shared four photos of the six suspects offering a $ 2,500 reward for helping to identify them
Police are looking for six suspects who repeatedly punched an Asian woman in the face for not wearing a mask and said “ anti-Asian statements ” about the coronavirus to her on a subway.
At 1:45 PM on December 17, the group – three women and three men – approached the 32-year-old woman on an A train southbound at Manhattan’s West 4th Street station.
They allegedly confronted her for not wearing a mask and made anti-Asian statements about the virus against her, police say, according to ABC7.
Their verbal attack turned physical and the victim was punched in the face several times before the group walked away.
Police are looking for six suspects who repeatedly punched an Asian woman in the face for not wearing a mask and said “ anti-Asian statements against her ” about the coronavirus on December 17 at West 4 St subway station in New York City . A representation of two of the suspects captured on surveillance cameras above
A representation of two of the suspects wanted in the attack above
The victim bruised but refused medical attention.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
On Sunday, police shared four surveillance photos of the six suspects, asking for help identifying them and handing out a reward of up to $ 2,500.
Since the pandemic began, there have been reports of racist attacks on Asian-Americans, as the first reported cases came from Wuhan, China.
A depiction of suspects entering the train station on Dec.17 above
They approached the woman, 32, on a southbound A train at West 4th Street station and had a verbal altercation that physically changed. The victim suffered bruises after being hit in the face. File image of the West 4th Street station above
Trump has also referred to COVID-19 as the ‘China virus’ several times and has blamed China for the global pandemic.
Earlier this year, a video appeared on social media in which a passenger on the subway sprayed an Asian man on the train that looked like a bottle of Febreze.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)