Police are seeking a suspect who reportedly yelled, “You are Chinese, God hates China, China has virus” at an Asian couple before throwing his bicycle at them Wednesday night.
According to the NY Post, the victims were a 29-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman who told police they were targeted by the suspect who both spit and attacked them at East 19th Street and Broadway.
Gothamist reported the suspect allegedly hurled racist remarks at the two and then assaulted the 29-year-old man with his own bicycle. The victims suffered minor injuries.
Described as being in his 30s and around 5’8″ to 5’11”, the suspect was last seen wearing a white tank top and black pants.
Immediately after the Asian couple reported the assault, NYPD Crime Stoppers uploaded a “Wanted” post on their Twitter.
The tweet read, “Seen him? Know who he is? Call 1-800-577-TIPS” and promised complete confidentiality. The NYPD Crime Stoppers also put the reward as high as $2,500.
The crime happened to take place on the same day the NYPD reported that three anti-Asian hate crimes and 22 COVID-related hate crimes happened alone in 2020, according to Gothamist.
NYPD said in a press release, “Recent Coronavirus-related incidents fall under the anti-other category as there are primarily two motivating factors behind those crimes: The victim’s race (Anti-Asian) and the perception that they have Coronavirus.”
President Trump has made attacks on China during his campaign appearances a central theme, according to Gothamist. He called it the kung flu virus during appearances in Oklahoma and Arizona.
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