Police are looking for three people who allegedly yelled anti-Asian slurs at a woman before assaulting her and a man in New York City on Thursday.
According to Yahoo News, the attack happened just after 2:30 p.m. near Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, where one of the attackers, a woman, “yelled anti-Asian remarks” from a white Acura SUV at a 44-year-old woman walking nearby with a 24-year-old man, according to New York City police.
According to police, the female attacker then threw water at the woman before getting out of her car with two men and punching and kicking both victims in the head.
According to police, the attackers then fled westbound on Roosevelt Avenue in a white SUV.
According to police, emergency medical personnel transported the victims to hospitals where they were stable and treated for their head injuries.
The male attackers were described by authorities as being around 25 years old. There was no additional information about the female suspect available at the time.
The Hate Crimes Task Force of the police department is looking into the event.
Experts blame racist rhetoric blaming Asian people for the coronavirus pandemic for a multiyear spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in New York City and other major cities.
According to the police department’s Hate Crimes Dashboard, there were 83 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate crimes and 67 arrests in New York City last year, and 139 reported incidents and 69 arrests in 2021.