Video footage shared by a New York state lawmaker shows an Asian woman being punched in the face and knocked to the sidewalk for no apparent reason as she walked past a restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
Yuh-Line Niou, the state assembly member who represents the district that includes Chinatown, said the video was sent to her by a constituent.
Several bystanders can be seen helping the woman after the attack, as she sat stunned on the ground against a pole. Niou said the victim was “conscious and cognizant and alert.” She was hospitalized at New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in stable condition, according to police.
Alexander Wright, 48, was arrested nearby and was charged with assault as a hate crime, assault and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Police took him to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation.
The attack took place just before 6:20 p.m. Monday on Bayard Street, an NYPD spokesperson told HuffPost.
“A 55-year-old female was approached by a male who punched her causing her to fall to the ground. The incident was unprovoked,” the NYPD said.
Warning: Video shows a violent assault.
The attack comes amid a wave of hate incidents reported by Asian people around the country, particularly in New York and California, which have significant Asian American populations. The pandemic, and anti-Asian rhetoric about its origins , has led to a rise in racially targeted violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders over the past year.
Hate crimes targeting AAPIs rose by 150% in major cities last year, according to one study published in March. Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition of Asian American advocacy groups, recorded another steep rise in anti-Asian harassment and attacks around the same time, which the group attributed to increased national attention on anti-Asian hate, awareness of reporting resources, and the opening up of the country as COVID-19 restrictions lift.
A joint report published by Stop AAPI Hate , Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Asian American Psychological Association last week featured findings from research projects that found Asian Americans who have experienced racism are most stressed by anti-Asian hate than the pandemic itself, and have heightened symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
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