Asian Man Attacked On Midtown Train Over Coronavirus: NYPD

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — An Asian man was attacked on a Midtown Manhattan train in an incident the NYPD is investigating as a coronavirus-fueled hate crime, police said.

A 30-year-old Asian man was riding a northbound 4 train on Sunday when another passenger attempted to force him off the train at the Lexington Avenue-59th Street subway station, police said. The attacker shouted "you're infected" and called the victim "China boy" before grabbing the man's arm and attempting to shove him off the train, police said.

The victim struggled with the aggressor, who eventually gave up and fled the station, police said. During the scuffle, the victim was able to capture a photo of his attacker, who was not wearing a mask.

Police said that the man did not suffer injuries during the fight and refused medical attention at the scene.

Asian New Yorkers have been victims of multiple hate crimes since the outbreak of the coronavirus in early March. A man was chased in Forest Hills while walking his child to a school bus, a commuter was spat at in a Penn Station bathroom and in early March a video showed a subway passenger spraying disinfectant at an Asian man.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that new scientific evidence supports a theory that the strain of coronavirus affecting New York City likely spread from European travelers well after the United States issued a travel ban against China, where the new coronavirus is believed to have started.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).