Police are seeking a suspect after an Asian woman was injured in a hate crime attack on a city bus last week.
A 51-year-old Asian woman was on an MTA bus in the Bronx on March 28 when an unidentified woman and three teenage girls began making anti-Asian comments to her, according to the NYPD. The suspect then allegedly attacked her, hitting her on the head with an umbrella before fleeing the bus.
The woman was taken to a hospital nearby where she received stitches for her injury.
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Three 15-year-old girls were charged with hate crime assaults, menacing and harassment shortly after the incident.
The department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is seeking the woman who allegedly hit the Asian woman in the head with the umbrella.
Asians around the world have reported an increase in xenophobic incidents amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus sent a letter to colleagues on Feb. 26 urging them to “help prevent hysteria, ignorant attacks and racist assaults” against Asian Americans resulting from misinformation about the coronavirus.
Authorities across the globe have spoken out against anti-Asian sentiments in recent weeks, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Right now, we’ve seen particularly troubling instances of discrimination directed at Asian communities, particularly in Chinese community,” de Blasio said last month. “This is unacceptable.”
