LONG ISLAND CITY, Queens (PIX11) — The NYPD is asking for the public’s help finding the man who punched a Queens straphanger without provocation while making anti-Hasidic remarks.
The victim was aboard a southbound E train at the Queens Plaza station in Long Island City around 7:30 p.m. July 26 when the assailant slugged him in the face, police said.
The attacker struck with no provocation and made anti-Hasidic remarks during the incident, then fled the train into the station, authorities said.
The victim, who suffered a cut to the lip, was taken to an area hospital in what officials described as stable condition.
The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect taken on the platform of what appears to be the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station, as well as a police sketch.
He’s believed to be in his 30s and is described as about 5-foot-7 with a medium build. He has black hair that he wore in braids, and was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a white tank top, light-colored shorts, white and gray sneakers, and a black fanny pack slung across his chest.
According to recently released NYPD statistics, July saw 15 reported hate crimes motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment across the city, more than double the seven such incidents tallied in the same month last year.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
