(NEW YORK) — An elderly Asian American woman was attacked by a man Monday afternoon who repeatedly kicked her in front of witnesses who seemingly stood by, according to surveillance footage released by the New York City Police Department.
The 65-year-old woman was walking along 43rd street when a man came up to her and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, the NYPD said.
The man then stomps on the woman’s face several times while hurling anti-Asian statements at her, police said. He later casually walks away, the footage shows.
The woman was hospitalized with serious injuries.
According to video footage, a man inside a building lobby seemingly stopped what he’s doing to watch the assault and later two more men wearing blazers walked into the frame and one of them closed the door as the woman was on the ground.
According to real estate website Street Easy, Brodsky Organization is the property developer and manager of the building where the incident took place.
On Brodsky’s Instagram account, the group said they were aware of the incident and the staff who witnessed the account were suspended pending an investigation. The organization also said they were working to identify a third-party delivery vendor who was also present during the assault.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident and has asked anyone with information to contact the department.
NYPD says there have been 33 hate crimes with an Asian victim so far this year, news outlets reported.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea previously said the agency would increase their outreach and patrols in predominantly Asian communities amid the spike of anti-Asian hate crimes.
In a warning to would-be attackers, Shea said: “The next person you target, whether it’s through speech, menacing activity or anything else, walking along a sidewalk or on a train platform, may be a plainclothes New York City police officer. So think twice.”
According to a report from Stop AAPI Hate over 3,795 incidents were reported to the organization from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. The organization said that number is “only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur.”
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