NYPD: Brutal Subway Beating Of Asian Man On Lower East Side Considered Hate Crime
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are investigating and searching for a suspect after another Asian New Yorker was the victim of a violent attack.
It's the latest in a string of such incidents.
Surveillance video shows the attacker, with a bandana covering his face, waiting for a man to approach, then without warning, he turns violent.
He hits the man repeatedly, knocking him to the ground and continuously punching him in the face.
The victim was 56-year-old Ming Teoh, of Brooklyn.
"He hit me. I was like, 'What happened?' The second time he hit me, I don't know why. Then I fell down," Teoh told CBS2's Nick Caloway.
Teoh says he was walking into the East Broadway and Rutgers Street subway station on the Lower East Side late Tuesday night when the man suddenly attacked without saying a word.
Teoh doesn't know why, but he can take a guess.
"Because I am Chinese, maybe," he said.
It's the latest in a string of attacks against Asian New Yorkers in recent weeks.
Last month, an Asian woman was walking in SoHo when someone pulled up in a car and pepper-sprayed her.
"I'm sure I was targeted due to my race," she said.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise nationwide.
In Chinatown, NYPD posters show the suspect in Tuesday night's attack.
"There's no place for this kind of racism, injustice," Bronx resident James Rodriguez said.
The recent violence has even forced some Asian Americans to stop going out at night.
"A lot of people are closing early, go home. It's different now, so everything has changed," Chinatown resident Paul Luk said.
Teoh is recovering, but his bruised face is a brutal reminder of the inexplicable attack.
"So painful," Teoh said.
Late Wednesday night, the NYPD classified the attack as a hate crime. Police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest.
CBS2's Nick Caloway contributed to this report.
