March 4, 2021
CHINATOWN, Manhattan—Authorities are investigating another unprovoked attack on an Asian-American man, this time in a subway station on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, according to ABC 7.
The attack occurred just before 9 p.m. Tuesday night at the East Broadway F train station near Rutgers Street.
Surveillance footage exclusively obtained by ABC 7 shows the assailant waiting until the 56-year-old victim walks past him to launch the attack.
He punches the victim and pushes him to the ground, where he punches him in the eye and elbows him in the mouth repeatedly.
The construction worker, Teoh Ming Soon, is an immigrant from Malaysia and has been in the U.S. for about 20 years. He says he was walking home from work when the unprovoked attack happened and he barely even saw his assailant.
“Too fast, I cannot remember anything. Too fast, it happened,” Soon said.
The attack was over in seconds and police say the suspect fled into the station where surveillance cameras captured his face, reported ABC 7.
The victim suffered non-life-threatening head injuries and was transported via EMS in stable condition to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was treated and released.
“I don’t know. I don’t know why he attacked me. Maybe because I’m Asian?” Soon said.
There was no obvious motive for the attack. Detectives converged on the neighborhood Wednesday, canvassing residents and shopkeepers for clues determined to identify the attacker.
The NYPD is investigating as a possible hate crime.
Feature Images via ABC 7