A 23-year-old Asian woman was attacked with a walking cane by a man at a subway station in Manhattan last month, and the police are now asking for the public’s help in tracking down the suspect.
The incident happened on 12 May as the woman exited the northbound 1 train at Broadway and West 116 Street in Morningside Heights, the police said.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime task force, which is investigating the attack, said in a tweet that an unknown man swung his cane at her multiple times, striking her on the head and hip.
The man then fled on a northbound 1 train, it said.
The woman had pain and swelling after the attack, but the police said she refused medical attention.
Recommended
The woman, who did not want to be named, told NY Daily News: “Each time I talk about it, I’m having a flashback. I’m still recovering from that mentally.”
She said it was a really “traumatising event” for her and the attack was “totally unexpected”. She said that it’s “really sad that these things keep happening to our city right now because I’ve never felt that I lived in such a dangerous city.”
She said she tries to avoid going out now unless she has something to do.
Police have described the attacker as a male, about 60 years old, who is roughly 5'4" and weighs around 150 pounds. He has a “dark complexion” and brown eyes, the police said, according to FOX 5 NY. He also has a moustache and a goatee, cops said.
He was last seen wearing a dark-coloured jacket, dark-coloured sweatpants and white sneakers, police said. He was also using a walking cane.
The police said he appeared emotionally disturbed and was waving his cane back and forth while approaching the woman. The cops were told that the man maintained eye contact with the woman till the train doors shut, NY Daily News reported.
The NYPD this week charged a man with hate crime after he was caught in a video punching an Asian woman in the face in New York City’s Chinatown. The incident happened on Monday, and the attacker has been charged with assault, assault as a hate crime, and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
