A hammer attack on a New York City subway that left the victim hospitalized with injuries is being investigated as a possible hate crime, a police official said.
The victim, who is Asian, and suspect were at the 14th Street station around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when they bumped into each other on the platform, according to a New York City Police Department official.
The two men got into a verbal argument and the suspect allegedly pulled out a hammer and hit the victim once in the head. The suspect, who was wearing a red leather jacket and red shoes, fled the scene. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon.
The attack comes weeks after Mayor Eric Adams and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a new plan to combat violence on public transit.
In their announcement, Adams and Hochul said that the plan would address public safety concerns and support people who are experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness on city subways, while also cracking down on subway riders displaying aggressive behavior.
“For too long our mental health care system suffered from disinvestment, and the pandemic has only made things harder for New Yorkers with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness,” Hochul said in a statement.
“We must work together to keep our subways — the lifeblood of New York City — safe for all riders, and to get help and services to those in need.”
According to NBC New York, crime on the city’s public transit system has climbed 30 percent with felony assaults nearly doubling. NYPD data from the last week of February showed there were 55 major crimes on the transit system in the week of February 21 compared to 42 the week prior. There were 18 in the same week last year, the news station reported.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
