“It must stop”

AFP

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In the images, taken by surveillance cameras shortly before noon from inside a building near Times Square, we see a woman, 65 years old according to the police, walking when all of a sudden , the man approaches her, makes her fall to the ground then kicks her several times in the head before walking away.

The video also shows a man attending the scene from inside the building, quickly joined by another. As the assailant walks away, one of the men closes the door to the building, apparently doing nothing to help the woman on the ground.

The victim, whose identity has not been specified, was hospitalized with a broken pelvis and multiple injuries, police said. His condition was stable on Tuesday.

The assailant has uttered anti-Asian slurs against his victim, police said, and the unit specializing in racist crimes is in charge of the investigation.

That same unit is still looking for another man who punched a woman in a Manhattan subway station on Saturday night. The woman was not seriously injured and declined medical assistance.

The man, there too, uttered anti-Asian insults, said a spokesperson for the NYPD.

“Epidemic”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday described the attack the day before as “horrible” and “disgusting”, while the governor of the state considered it “absolutely appalling”.

“Violence against the Asian community is unfortunately becoming an epidemic in our state and our country, it must stop,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement. “We must face it together and speak out with one voice against hatred and violence in all its forms, wherever we see it.”

The mayor called on anyone who witnessed such violence to “literally shout” to “disturb” the aggressor and “attract attention”.

New York, like other American metropolises, has seen an upsurge in crimes targeting people of Asian descent in recent months, fueled by ex-President Donald Trump who frequently referred to Covid-19 as a “Chinese virus” or ” Chinese plague ”.

On March 15, a man shot dead eight people, including six women of Asian origin, in the Atlanta area.

New York police have since stepped up their presence in neighborhoods with high Asian populations. Volunteer patrols have also been formed in certain neighborhoods to reassure the population.

Several demonstrations of solidarity with the Asian community were also organized, in the presence of personalities, such as Pastor Al Sharpton, a figure in the fight against racism, or candidates for mayor of New York.

The first American metropolis has more than a million inhabitants with Asian origins. For the week of March 15 to 21 alone, New York City police recorded nine “hate motivated” crimes, up from three over the same period of 2020, according to official statistics.

“We have known periods with attacks against New York Muslims, against New York Sikhs, New York Jews,” the mayor recalled on Tuesday. “What works is solidarity, people who get involved to help each other (…), to be active and not passive,” he stressed.

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