ABC 7 reports that a 31-year-old Asian American Fashion Institute of Technology graduate is the victim in another possible New York hate crime.
The victim, Theresa, walked along 42nd Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood with a bottle of wine in her hand when she came across a young couple. The female suspect hit Theresa’s head with a hammer and she collapsed while also dropping the bottle of wine.
“She was talking to herself, like talking to a wall, I thought maybe she was drunk or something, so we just wanted to pass through her quickly and when I passed through her, she saw us and said ‘Take off your f***ing mask,’ which is shocking,” Theresa told ABC 7. “Suddenly I felt my head get hit by something.”
Witness and cafe owner Steve Olsen tells ABC 7 that his patrons assisted the victim while she was speechless and in shock.
“Since COVID, this thing has pancaked out,” Olsen told ABC 7. “It’s as bad as it ever was in the mid/late 70s.”
Her blood on the street washed away, but the wine stains still remain.
Theresa told ABC 7 that her physical pain does not compare to her psychological scars.
The victim was born in the United States but went to Taiwan during the pandemic. She returned to the United States last month. However, her mother did not want her to because of the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, according to ABC 7.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the recent anti-Asian hate crimes, as reported by World News Era.
“If someone commits an act of violence or bias against Asian American New Yorkers, they will suffer the consequences,” de Blasio said. “And that’s what we do every day, make sure that no offense goes without the right follow-through and the right consequences.”
According to World News Era, the suspect is about 5-foot-9 and wore all black at the time of the crime. Authorities will investigate this incident as a possible hate crime.
Photo from Wikimedia Creative Commons by Michael Discenza
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