Police release footage of man accused of anti-gay attack in NYC
Police in New York City have released video footage of a man who they suspect was involved in a homophobic attack last month and is now wanted by the department’s hate crime task force.
Footage of the unidentified suspect obtained by The New York Post depicts a younger Black man seen wearing a white t-shirt, black or dark-colored shorts, and sporting a small goatee.
The man appears to be wearing several wristbands on each arm, and has a bright pink accenture of some kind on his otherwise nondescript sneakers.
According to the Post, the unnamed suspect is accused of punching a 24-year-old male in the back of the head at a CVS near 5 Pennsylvania Ave in Brooklyn while making homophobic remarks including, “F---ing gays.” He then left the scene.
A request for further information about the attack from NYPD officials was not immediately returned.
NYPD officials are investigating the incident as a hate crime, according to the Post.
The city has been in similar headlines over recent months as one of numerous urban centers where Asian Americans have been targeted in seemingly random physical attacks, with attackers frequently making racist remarks as well as references to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is thought to have originated in China.
The latest incident in the city occurred last Wednesday, when police say a panhandler attempted to mug an Asian man on the city’s subway system after asking if he was Chinese, though the victim escaped uninjured.
