September 21, 2022
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Authorities are searching for an African-American man accused of at least two unprovoked attacks on teenage girls at different SEPTA stations in Philadelphia.
According to police, the first attack happened during the Friday morning rush on September 9 at the Walnut-Locust Street Station.
The 17-year-old victim was walking in the station when the African-American male suspect strangled her to the ground with both hands around her neck.
The suspect eventually let the girl go and fled the station in an elevator, according to FOX29.
Three days later, police believe the same suspect attacked a 13-year-old girl around 7:30 a.m. at the City Hall stop as she got off the Broad Street Line train. The suspect punched the girl five times in the face and was pulled off by other passengers.
Police confirmed that both victims are young Asian girls, however, they are unsure if the girls were specifically targeted because of their race.
SEPTA provided a statement addressing the active investigation:
“SEPTA police launched investigations into these incidents immediately after they were reported. By sharing images that were taken by SEPTA’s surveillance camera system among law enforcement, SEPTA Police were able to make significant progress in the investigation in a short period of time.
Assaults against our customers are treated with the utmost urgency by SEPTA Police. When an incident occurs, police immediately respond to assist the victim and gather evidence so that the perpetrator can be held accountable. Surveillance images are immediately shared among police, which often results in the timely identification of suspects. Surveillance images are also shared with the public when that will help advance the investigation.”
Back in November 2021, multiple African-American female teens were charged with aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, and other related charges for attacking a group of Asian teens over their AirPods.
The now-viral video showed a group of African-American females verbally harassing and physically assaulting a group of Asian students trying to mind their own business. Another Asian female can be seen trying to de-escalate the situation but is soon swarmed by a group of African-American females.
Feature Screenshot via FOX29