Cops need the public’s help in finding the brute who bashed a young woman at a Morningside Heights subway station last month — the latest in a string of recent hate crimes targeting Asian New Yorkers.
The NYPD released on Wednesday morning images of the suspect behind the hate crime that occurred at 6:45 a.m. on May 12 at the 116th Street-Columbia University station, near the corner of Broadway and West 116th Street.
According to law enforcement sources, the bigot confronted the 23-year-old woman on the platform and began swinging his walking cane at her. He struck the victim with the weapon multiple times about her head and hip.
Cops said he then boarded an arriving Bronx-bound 1 train and fled the scene.
The incident was reported to the 26th Precinct and the NYPD Transit Bureau. The victim suffered pain and swelling, but refused medical attention.
Following a preliminary investigation, the case was presented to the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, which has been busy looking into anti-Asian incidents across the city throughout the year. In March 2021 alone, there were 31 anti-Asian hate crimes reported citywide — an infinite increase from the prior year, when no such incidents were reported in March 2020.
Regarding the Morningside Heights attack, police describe the suspect as a 60-year-old man with a dark complexion, standing about 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, with a medium build, brown eyes, close cut salt-and-pepper hair, a mustache and a goatee.
He was last seen wearing a dark colored jacket, dark colored sweatpants and white sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
