New York: An Asian American woman was attacked by a man 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 in midtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon when a man came up to her and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, the NYPD said.
The man then stomped on the woman’s face several times while hurling anti-Asian sentiments at her, police said. He later casually walked away, the footage shows.
The woman was hospitalised with serious injuries.
According to video footage, a man inside a building lobby seemingly stopped what he was doing to watch the assault. Later, two more men wearing blazers walked into the frame and one of them closed the door as the woman was on the ground.
The property developer and manager of the building, Bordsky Organisation, wrote on Instagram that it was aware of the assault and the staff who witnessed it were suspended pending an investigation.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the attack 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 a national spike of anti-Asian hate crimes.
According to a report from Stop AAPI Hate over 3,795 incidents were reported to the organisation from March 19, 2020, to February 28, 2021. The organisation said that number is “only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur.”
