NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The man accused of attacking a 65-year-old Asian woman in Hell’s Kitchen is expected to face a judge Monday.
His court appearance comes as the NYPD investigates more potential bias attacks.
As CBS2’s Christina Fan reports, there were angry chants outside Manhattan Criminal Court, where Brandon Elliot was scheduled to appear in front of a judge.
The 38-year-old homeless man, who was out on parole for killing his own mother, is accused of viciously attacking the woman last month.
“It makes absolutely no sense to release somebody who killed his own mother and let him walk free in the streets with little or no follow-up or social services,” one person said. “Where was the parole officer?”
(Credit: NYPD)
Police said Elliot kicked 65-year-old Vilma Kari to the ground and stomped on her while making anti-Asian statements. He was charged with two counts of felony assault as a hate crime, among other crimes.
“I call for all my New York City fellow citizens to stand up to say ‘no’ to the crimes,” one protester said Monday.
This weekend, there were two more attacks on Asian victims in the city. On Saturday, a man punched an Asian employee at a midtown 7-Eleven after the victim caught him trying to shoplift. Then, on Sunday, a 66-year-old Asian man was slugged in an unprovoked attack in the Bronx.
LINK: #StopAsianHate Resources
“Never in our adult lives have we had to see such hateful rhetoric and brazen attacks upon the Asian American community,” said Richard Lee of Queens.
A group of Asian candidates rallied in Lower Manhattan, saying putting a stop to these racist attacks is one of the reasons they are running for office.
Police said there had been 33 anti-Asian hate crime victims this year through March 28, compared to 11 during the same period last year.
“It’s a tragedy, because I think nobody should be living in fear. As Asians ourselves, I can personally attest to — walking on the streets these days, it adds to an extra level of anxiety that I haven’t felt before,” Siqi Zhao said.
“Representation matters, and we need people to know that we are American too,” said Linda Lee, who is running for city council.
“New York City is everyone’s city. The city is for everyone, and there’s no one who should be walking the streets in fear, particularly based upon the way that they look of the color of their skin,” said New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
CBS2’s Christina Fan contributed to this report.
