Asian Woman Hit With Hammer In Hell's Kitchen Attack: Police

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — An Asian woman was hit in the head with a hammer in Hell's Kitchen on Sunday, an unprovoked attack that continues a pattern of assaults against Asians in the city, police said.

The assault happened around 8:45 p.m. Sunday as the victim, a 31-year-old woman, walked on West 42nd Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.

Another woman who the victim did not know approached her and asked her to take off her face mask, police said. She then struck the victim with a hammer, causing lacerations to the head.

The victim was taken to NYU Langone hospital in stable condition, while the suspect fled east along West 42nd Street toward Ninth Avenue.

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the assault as a hate crime, police said. No arrests have been made and the suspect has not been identified.

Steve Olsen, proprietor of the West Bank Cafe, told W42ST magazine that he witnessed the aftermath of the assault, which happened between the West Bank and Ollie's Restaurant.

The assault happened just a block away from where 65-year-old Vilma Kari was shoved to the ground and stomped on last month, a brutal attack that provoked widespread outrage and raised fears about rising violence against Asians. Police charged 38-year-old Brandon Elliot, a convicted murderer who lived in a nearby shelter, with committing the assault.