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| People participate in a protest to demand an end to anti-Asian violence on April 4 in New York City. |
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Asian Man In Critical Condition After Another Attack In New York City
NPR
Sun April 25, 2021
Area: New York
A 61-year-old Asian man is fighting for his life after an attack by an unidentified assailant in New York City on Friday evening. The assault is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.
In surveillance video released by the New York City Police Department's Hate Crime Task Force, the victim can be seen being pushed to the ground by an unidentified man, who then kicks him in the head multiple times.
The victim — who has not been publicly identified — was rushed to a local hospital, according to police.
No arrests have been made as of Sunday.
While authorities have yet to determine if the victim was targeted because of his race, this attack comes during a surge in reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in several cities across the country, including recently against an elderly Asian woman in Manhattan as several bystanders looked on, shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area which left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women, and several high-profile incidents in the Bay Area.
The increase in reports of anti-Asian attacks began last year, as the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe. Hate crimes targeting people of Asian decent increased in more than a dozen major cities in 2020 from 2019, according to preliminary data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
This weekend's attack in New York comes as the Senate approved legislation on Thursday to ramp up law enforcement efforts to better protect the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from hate crimes. The bill, which was re-introduced to Congress jointly last month by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Democratic Rep. Grace Meng of New York, was approved nearly unanimously in a 94-1 vote. Only Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri voted no.
The bill next heads to the House, where it is expected to gain approval.
"We had a former president who really used a lot of terms like 'Chinese virus' and 'kung flu.' When a leader who has a tremendous platform uses that sort of incendiary language, it can be really damaging and harmful," Rep. Meng told NPR's All Things Considered in March.
"People are scared," she continued. "People are literally telling their elderly parents and grandparents, 'Do not go out.' You know, 'We'll buy groceries for you.' "
President Biden has spoken out against the attacks numerous times, recently announcing an initiative at the Department of Justice to address anti-Asian crimes. "We can't be silent in the face of rising violence against Asian Americans," he wrote on Twitter. "These attacks are wrong, un-American, and must stop."
UPDATE from CNN
A man has been arrested in connection with the case of a 61-year-old Asian man who was attacked last week in New York, police said.
Jarrod Powell, 49, was detained early Tuesday morning and the NYPD recommends that he faces two counts of felony assault, the NYPD said. It's unclear whether Powell has retained an attorney.
Police previously said the victim was approached from behind on an East Harlem corner Friday, struck in the back and, after he fell to the ground, kicked in the head multiple times.
The incident was being investigated as a possible hate crime, the NYPD said. CNN has reached out to the police department asking why hate crime charges were not pursued and whether its hate crimes task force is still investigating the case.
CNN has reached out to prosecutors for comment on what charges they are planning to pursue.
The victim, who was not named by police, was taken to a Harlem hospital with significant injuries.
Police released this image of the person seen on surveillance video attacking a 61-year-old Asian man.
Last week's incident, which comes amid a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans in New York City and across the nation, was captured on surveillance video.
The NYPD has deployed a number of undercover Asian officers on the streets in an attempt to stem the violence. Earlier this month, one of the officers arrested a woman yelling anti-Asian slurs at a Chinatown nail salon, according to city officials.
The NYPD has said its investigating more than 60 possible hate crimes against Asian Americans this year, and 42 incidents through the end of March have been classified as hate crimes.
Last week, the Senate voted 92-6 to advance a bill that would assign a Justice Department official to expedite reviews of potential Covid-19-related hate crimes and establish an online database.
The shootings of six Asian women in the Atlanta area last month drew attention to a spike in anti-Asian violence across the United States.
A survey by the Pew Research Group this week found that 32% of Asian adults fear someone might threaten or physically attack them -- and 81% said violence against them is rising.
About 20% of the respondents said former President Donald Trump's "rhetoric about China as the source of the pandemic" as well as his racist labeling of the coronavirus as the "kung flu" or "Chinese flu" has contributed to the mounting violence, according to the survey.
A report by Stop AAPI Hate cited nearly 3,800 "hate incidents" against Asian Americans from March to February, ranging from verbal harassment to assaults to workplace discrimination.
The group, which chronicles hate and harassment incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the pandemic, said it has received 503 reports of anti-Asian hate and bias so far this year.
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