A man who violently attacked seven Asian women on the streets of Manhattan in late February in the space of three hours has been charged with “hate crime”, New York justice announced on Monday.
On February 27 between 6 and 9 p.m., 28-year-old Steven Zajonc assaulted and beat seven Asian women in New York City’s eastern and central Manhattan Island, District Attorney Alvin said in a statement. Bragg.
“Attacks fueled by anti-Asian hatred”
“Steven Zajonc chose to attack seven women by assaulting them separately, some being hit from behind, with the sole reason being the perception he had” of their ethnic origin, continued the prosecutor.
Mr. Bragg specifies that the suspect “hit” his victims “in the face with a clenched fist or his elbow, before fleeing”. One of them was even “pushed to the ground” by her attacker.
“These attacks on seven New York women, each fueled by anti-Asian hatred, provide new food for thought on the obvious fears that people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, especially women, continue to face,” castigated the Manhattan prosecutor, the first African-American in this post, which he has held since January.
Arrested thanks to CCTV images and testimonies
The victims all suffered facial injuries and one was hospitalized with a concussion.
The suspect, arrested on March 2 by the New York police (NYPD) thanks to CCTV footage and testimony from employees of the Great New York Public Library, was charged with “felony third-degree assault motivated by hatred” and “aggravated second degree harassment”, according to the prosecution.
27 cases of anti-Asian crimes
Mr Bragg said his office was investigating 27 anti-Asian crime cases. In February, he lamented that the number of investigations for crimes against Asian people had never been so high (33 at the time), since a special unit was set up in Manhattan in 2010.
Racist attacks on Asian people have increased in the United States since 2020 and the beginnings of the coronavirus pandemic. Some associations blame the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) who regularly spoke of the “Chinese virus”.
In a context of rising crimes and misdemeanors in New York since 2020, the authorities are also pointing to psychiatric disorders in many attackers, as in January when an Asian woman died after being pushed by an unbalanced man on the subway tracks when the train was entering the station.
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