New York man charged with hate crimes in attacks on 7 Asian women
- The victims, aged 19 to 57, were punched in the face or shoved, all within a two-hour period
- The attacks follow the fatal stabbing of Christina Yuna Lee, and the death of Michelle Alyssa Go, who was shoved in front of a subway train
A 28-year-old homeless man has been charged with hate crimes after a string of unprovoked attacks on women of Asian descent in New York, police said.
Steven Zajonc was arrested on Wednesday in connection with assaults on seven women in different Manhattan neighbourhoods over a two-hour period on Sunday.
The victims were all women of Asian descent ranging in age from 19 to 57, police said. Most were punched in the face; one was shoved to the ground. Two were treated at hospitals.
Zajonc was arrested on seven counts each of assault as a hate crime, attempted assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment and harassment. It was not clear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges.
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Zajonc was apprehended at a midtown Manhattan library after two library guards recognised him from surveillance videos of the crime scenes and alerted police, officials with the New York Public Library said.