NEW YORK (PIX11) – Police are looking for two suspects who targeted Asian people in separate incidents in New York City, according to the NYPD.
On March 14, a man walked into a building on Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side and got into a fight with a 23-year-old victim, police said. The suspect made an anti-Asian remark and spat at the victim before running away, heading south on Columbus Avenue, authorities said.
The woman was not injured in the incident, police said. Authorities described the suspect as about 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds.
On April 19, a different man spray-painted an anti-Asian statement on the front gate of a liquor and wine store on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens, police said. The suspect then boarded a bus and left the scene.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. Police described the suspect as a man with a medium build and hair on his chin.
So far this year, there have been at least 150 hate crimes reported to police citywide – down nearly 27% compared to the same time period in 2022, according to NYPD data. Nationwide statistics in recent years have shown a startling spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate received 9,081 reports of anti-Asian incidents between March 2020 and June 2021. Since the coronavirus was first reported in China, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent were treated as scapegoats solely based on their race, the Associated Press reported.
Activists, community groups and governments – federal and local – have since pushed back against the wave of hate. In New York City, the NYPD created an Asian Hate Crime Task Force, which patrolled the streets of vulnerable neighbors, serving as both a crime deterrent and a symbol of safety for residents.
If you or someone you know are experiencing anti-Asian hate, click here for resources. Anyone who witnesses an incident can also find out more information on bystander intervention by clicking here.
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).
