The NYPD said they are on the lookout for four men wanted in connection with an attack last month that is being investigated as a hate crime. Police are now asking the public for help.
According to the NYPD, a 72-year-old man was attacked in the evening on Friday, September 15th in Chelsea, around West 17th Street and 9th Avenue. Four males reportedly approached the 72-year-old, where police said they went on to make “anti-LGBTQIA+ statements and proceeded to punch, kick and use items to strike the victim in his head and body.”
The victim sustained multiple injuries – including a broken jaw – and went to a nearby hospital. The suspects fled on foot, police said.
The incident – which is currently being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force – follows a recently published report that hate crimes surged in most major cities – including New York – in 2022. In New York, the report said, hate crimes increased by 14.3 percent that year.
The NYPD recorded 235 hate crimes from the beginning of this year to June 27, with the highest number of incidents occurring in March thus far. Of those, a combined 44 incidents were categorized by the perpetrator’s bias towards sexual orientation or those that are transgender or gender-nonconforming, according to the NYPD’s hate crime dashboard.
Anyone with information on the September 15th incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA).
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply