A person who was arrested final month in New York Metropolis for committing a string of assaults on seven Asian ladies has been indicted 12 hate-crime expenses, prosecutors stated Monday.
Steven Zajonc, 28, assaulted seven separate Asian ladies over the course of three hours whereas strolling the span of 30 blocks in Manhattan, New York.
He has been charged with six felony counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and 7 counts of second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor hate crime, Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg stated in a assertion.
Round 6.30pm on February 27, Zajonc punched a 57-year-old Asian lady within the face. Over the subsequent three hours he punched or in any other case damage six different Asian lady, aged 19 to 57, with out provocation, police stated.
‘Inside simply three hours, Steven Zajonc selectively ambushed seven Asian ladies in separate assaults, a few of which he struck from behind — for no different motive than their perceived race,’ Bragg stated.
The assaults befell on the east aspect of Manhattan between Houston and East thirtieth streets.
In a number of of the assaults, Zajonc approached the ladies from behind earlier than placing them within the face, both with a closed first or his elbow. Within the closing assault, which befell between 8.30 and 9pm that night time, Zajonc shoved a girl to the bottom.
Six of the victims suffered accidents following the unprovoked assaults, together with bleeding lacerations and bruising to their faces. One of many victims was knocked unconscious by Zajonc, and needed to be taken to an space hospital to be handled for a concussion.
Zajonc fled after every assault, however was later acknowledged by a New York Public Library worker who acknowledged him from footage shared by police following the assaults.
He was apprehended by police on March 2.
The Manhattan District Legal professional’s workplace is presently investigating 27 hate crime circumstances in opposition to Asian Individuals, Bragg stated within the assertion.
‘These assaults on seven New York ladies, every fueled by anti-Asian hate, are yet one more sobering reminder of the demonstrable fears AAPI communities, significantly AAPI ladies, in our metropolis proceed to face,’ Bragg stated.
Anti-Asian hate crimes have surged because the begin of the coronavirus pandemic. Cities, like New York Metropolis, have seen the sharpest uptick in such crimes.
In January, 40-year-old Michelle Go was shoved in entrance of an oncoming subway practice in Instances Sq.. One week later a 62-year-old man was shoved off the subway platform onto the tracks, however was capable of pull himself out unscathed.
Then in February, 35-year-old Christina Yuna Lee was stabbed over 40 occasions by a person who adopted her dwelling into her New York Metropolis condo. Most just lately, in Yonkers, a metropolis north of Manhattan, a 67-year-old Asian lady was punched over 125 occasions by a person in an unprovoked assault.
Zajonc is due again in courtroom on July 18.
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