Man headbutted in Queens, NYPD probing as anti-Asian attack

LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (PIX11) — An assailant headbutted a man in Long Island City in what’s being investigated as an anti-Asian hate crime, according to the NYPD.

With no apparent provocation, the attacker walked up to the victim on Steinway Street near 34th Avenue just after 8:55 p.m. Tuesday and made anti-Asian remarks, police said. He then headbutted the victim, 22, and fled, officials said.

The victim suffered a chipped tooth, but did not require medical attention, authorities said. Investigators released surveillance images of the suspect.

That assault occurred less than 24 hours after a woman was kicked in the hip in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood in what’s being probed as another anti-Asian attack.

Hate crimes targeting Asians have been on the rise in recent years, a phenomenon that some experts have tied to the coronavirus pandemic and the way it has been framed.