What you should know
- NEW YORK – A 42-year-old Yonkers man has been arrested on attempted hate crime murder and other charges in the brutal beating of a 67-year-old Asian woman caught on video as she returned home last week. police said Monday.
- Officers responding to a call around 6:15 pm Friday of reports of a dispute found the victim bloodied in the lobby of her building. The suspect, identified as Tammel Esco, was still outside.
- According to the investigation, the victim simply walked past Esco on his way home and he yelled a racial slur at her. She ignored him.
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NEW YORK – A 42-year-old Yonkers man has been arrested on attempted hate crime murder and other charges in the brutal beating of a 67-year-old Asian woman caught on video as she returned home last week. police said Monday.
Officers responding to a call around 6:15 pm Friday of reports of a dispute found the victim bloodied in the lobby of her building. The suspect, identified as Tammel Esco, was still outside.
According to the investigation, the victim simply walked past Esco on his way home and he yelled a racial slur at her. She ignored him.
As she moved to open the second door to enter the lobby, the suspect punched her in the head from behind, knocking her to the ground. He then proceeded to hit her head and face more than 125 times with alternating punches and kicks. Stomping on her seven times and spitting on her, police say.
The victim suffered facial bone fractures, brain hemorrhage, and multiple contusions and lacerations to the head. She remains hospitalized and is expected to survive.
Esco was taken into custody without incident at the scene and later booked into the Westchester County Jail. Information from his attorney was not immediately clear.
Yonkers officials condemned the attack.
“Hate crimes are beyond intolerable in our city. I applaud our Yonkers Police for quickly apprehending this violent criminal and removing him from our streets,” Mayor Mike Spano said in a statement Monday. “I hope the suspect is charged to the fullest extent of the law for his heinous actions. I continue to keep the victim and his family in our thoughts and prayers.”
Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller called it one of the creepiest attacks he has ever seen.
“Hitting a defenseless woman is despicable and attacking her because of her race makes it even more despicable,” Mueller said. “This defendant should receive the maximum punishment allowed by law to send a clear message that violent and hateful behavior will not be tolerated in our communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family, that she may recover safely.” full. .”
Crimes against Asian Americans have increased in New York and elsewhere since the pandemic began. A recent national survey by the group “Stop AAPI Hate” found more than 10,000 reported incidents in the last two years alone.
Race was by far the most common reason for a discriminatory incident to occur, listed as a reason in 91.5% of the 10,905 reports.
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