The New York City Police Department is searching for a group of six suspects they say punched a woman in the face several times for not wearing a mask.
On December 17, a group of three men and women attacked a 32-year-old woman riding a subway, police said in a statement over the weekend, reported by ABC 7. The group got into a verbal argument with the woman and punched her in the face several times, leaving her with bruises, according to police.
Police said the suspects made “anti-Asian statements relative to the Corona Virus” to the woman, and the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the bias assault incident.
Police are asking anyone who has any information to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Reports of racist attacks against Asian-Americans have been rampant during the coronavirus pandemic. As Insider’s Lauren Frias reported, language such as “Chinese virus” to describe the coronavirus has created racist microaggressions targeting Asian Americans.
Earlier this year, a video showed a passenger on a subway spraying what looked like a Febreze bottle at a nearby Asian man on an NYC subway. As Insider’s Anneta Konstantinides reported, Asian American restaurant employees reported experiences of vandalism and anti-Asian attacks at their businesses.
In September, lawmakers in Congress voted on a resolution to urge public officials to condemn racism targeting Asian Americans amid a surge in anti-Asian attacks.
*story by Insider