Footage of the attack.Photo: NYPD Crimestoppers
Police in New York City are trying to identify and track down the man behind a vicious assault Monday morning that leftan Asian womanwith a broken pelvis.
NYPD sources tell PEOPLE they are looking for the suspect who was seen in surveillance footage violently kicking a 65-year-old woman to the ground in midtown Manhattan just before noon.
The woman, the sources say, was going to church when she was attacked outside a building on West 43rd Street near Ninth Avenue.
After knocking the victim to the ground, the suspect can be seen in the disturbing video footage punching her and then stomping on her head.
Brandon Elliot.NYPD Crimestoppers
The suspect is then seen fleeing the scene, leaving the injured woman on the ground.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
At one point, it appears that someone inside the building where the surveillance video originated, purposely closes an open door on the woman before walking away from her.
No one pursued the fleeing suspect.
The attack occurred amid a rise in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the March 16 shootings at three Atlanta-area spas that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
A recent report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found that anti-Asian hate crimesincreased 150 percent in 2020in America’s 16 largest cities, despite overall hate crimes dropping 7 percent in those cities.
Anyone with any information about the suspect is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish-speaking tipsters should call (888) 57-PISTA (74782).
If you’ve been attacked or have witnessed an attack, please contact your local authorities. You can also report your incidenthere. To learn more and to report crimes, go to:Asian Americans Advancing Justice,Stop the AAPI Hate,National Council of Asian Pacific Americans,Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, andAsian Pacific Policy & Planning Council.
source: people.com
