Woman Attacked In Midtown In Another Anti-Asian Assault: Police

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Police are seeking a man accused of assaulting a woman and making anti-Asian statements in a Midtown subway station on Saturday, the latest in a wave of such attacks in recent weeks, police said.

The attack happened around 8:44 p.m. in the Lexington Avenue–51st Street station. The victim, a 37-year-old woman, was walking through the station when a man approached her, hit her in the face with his hand and made anti-Asian statements, police said.

The unidentified man fled the station. The woman had no serious injuries and declined medical attention.

Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, and are searching for the suspect, who they described as a man between 20 and 30 years old.

Seeking the public's assistance in identifying the following male individual wanted for questioning in connection to an anti-Asian aggravated harassment, Sat, March 27, 2021 at approximately 8:45 PM inside of the East 51 St and Lexington avenue subway. @NYPDTips 1-800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/mc18lRaMKK
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) March 28, 2021

The attack comes as the city and country are grappling with a wave of violent crimes against Asian Americans, from similar assaults in Harlem and Lower Manhattan to the deadly Atlanta spa shootings on March 16 that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian.

Police asked anyone with information about the assault to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.