On Monday, New York State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou posted a video sent to her by a constituent, which appeared to show a middle-aged Asian woman being punched in the face in New York City's Chinatown.
In the video, the woman staggers backward and collapses to the ground, clutching her face.
This was just sent to me from my constituent. This just happened in my district in Chinatown. He has been arrested… https://t.co/gryhwNFkhQ— Yuh-Line Niou (@Yuh-Line Niou) 1622502485.0
According to New York reporter CeFaan Kim, who has been dutifully covering local hate crime incidents, the suspect was apprehended at the scene and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital. The victim reportedly has a "facial injury" but is "in stable condition."
TW: 55-year-old Asian woman randomly punched in the face. Suspect apprehended at the scene, taken to Bellevue Hospi… https://t.co/JXsw5WDq0h— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaan Kim) 1622506244.0
Hate crime incidents against Asian-Americans have skyrocketed in the last year, driven in part by mistaken beliefs that they are responsible for spreading COVID-19 to the United States. This month, Congress passed landmark legislation that will give federal and local officials more tools to track and respond to hate crimes, particularly those in the Asian-American community.
