Police File Hate Charges in Subway Attack on Asian Man, DA's Office Still Probing
The attack comes as New York City and many others parts of the country grapple with a rise in anti-Asian violence
By Anjali Hemphill ••
NBC Universal, Inc.
A vicious beating on the subway left a man bloodied and the witness that came to his rescue says he believes the attack was racially motivated. NBC New York’s Anjali Hemphill reports.
Police filed hate crime charges against the man arrested in the alleged beating of a 68-year-old Asian man aboard a New York City subway last week, officials said Monday.
Narayange Bodhi, who is from Sri Lanka, was commuting on a northbound 1 train to his security job Friday afternoon when was punched in the head in an attack prosecutors say left the man unconscious.
The suspected attacker, 36-year-old Marc Mathieu, was initially arrested on Sunday for assault charges. The NYPD later filed charges for assault as a hate crimes, department officials confirmed Monday.
At Mathieu's arraignment, prosecutors presented second-degree assault charges while their office further investigates the alleged assault as a hate crime. A request for comment was sent to his defense attorney.
NYPD
Police released surveillance images of a suspect wanted in connection to the violent beating of Bodhi.
George Okrepkie was sitting across from Bodhi on the train when the suspect threw the punch. Okrepkie, a 9/11 survivor, says he was in shock.
Okrepkie says he was watching something roll across the floor of the train when he heard the suspect appear next to Bodhi and say, "You. You Asian MF."
Okerpkie tried to grab the attacker but said the man escaped out the subway doors as the train came to a stop at the Franklin Street Station in Manhattan. That's when Okrepkie took off his scarf and helped wrap it around Bodhi to stop the bleeding.
Family members tell NBC New York Bodhi suffered bruising on his face and has absolutely no memory of what happened.
Hundreds of New Yorkers marched from Times Square to Chinatown on Saturday in support of the Atlanta shooting victims and to call for an end to violence against Asian-Americans. NBC New York's Anjali Hemphill reports.
The attack comes as New York City and many others parts of the country grapple with a rise in anti-Asian violence. So far this year, the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force has investigated at least 10 cases of hate crimes against Asians.
Hundreds, potentially thousands, of New Yorkers rallied, marched and attended vigils over the weekend to condemn the increase in attacks and honor the victims of the Atlanta-area shootings.
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People participate in a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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A person holds a sign with the names of the people who died at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
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Demonstrators attend a vigil to mourn the Atlanta shooting victims at Union Square in New York, the United States, March 19, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned anti-Asian violence in the country on Friday, warning against silence and complicity in the aftermath of shootings this week in Atlanta, Georgia, in which eight people, including six Asian women, were killed. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/Michael Nagle via Getty Images)
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New Yorkers gather in Union Square, New York, on March 19, 2021 for a vigil to mourn the lives lost in a shooting in Atlanta earlier in the week. A gunman in Atlanta targeted three Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta Georgia, eight people, six of them Asians. (Photo by Ed Ou for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Candles are lit at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Getty Images
A person holds a sign with the names of the people who died at a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Getty Images
A person lights candles during a peace vigil to honor victims of attacks on Asians on March 19, 2021 in Union Square Park in New York City. On March 16th, eight people were killed at three Atlanta-area spas, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that sent terror through the Asian community. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
