The person accused of hitting an Asian man with a hammer at a New York City subway station has been indicted on hate crime charges.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday that 48-year-old Christian Jeffers is being charged with four felonies and one misdemeanor, Gothamist reports.
Jeffers is accused of hitting a 29-year-old Asian man with a hammer while yelling anti-Asian slurs around 9 p.m. on March 8. He allegedly bumped into the victim while he was walking with his wife, The Daily Beast reports. A verbal disagreement and then a physical altercation ensued.
“You can’t see me? You don’t have eyes?” Jeffers allegedly yelled at the victim, according to The New York Post.
Jeffers allegedly hit the victim with a hammer after he pushed Jeffers away.
Police arrested Jeffers the next day at the 125th/Lexington Subway station. The NYPD claims Jeffers made racist remarks towards the Hispanic and Asian police officers who were at the scene, Gothamist reports.
Jeffers charges include: attempted assault in the first degree as a hate crime; menacing in the second degree as a hate crime; criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; menacing in the second degree as a hate crime; and aggravated harassment in the second degree.
Bragg condemned anti-Asian hate crimes in a statement announcing the charges being brought against Jeffers.
“Hate-driven violence and slurs have no place in New York,” Bragg said in a statement, according to Gothamist. “Disturbingly, this alleged hate crime was just one in a wave of recent anti-Asian attacks. I want our AAPI neighbors to know that the Manhattan D.A.’s Office is here for you, and we are committed to your safety.”
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