A suspect has been arrested on hate crime charges after allegedly attacking a fellow passenger aboard a bus in Queens, harassing the teen victim over his turban and forcibly trying to take off him, according to police.
Christopher Philippeaux was arrested Thursday after the alleged incident aboard an MTA bus in South Ozone Park around 9 a.m. Sunday. Police said that Philippeaux went up to a 19-year-old passenger who was wearing a turban, and told the teen, "We don't wear that in this country and take that mask off!"
The suspect then punched the victim in his face, back and in the back of his head, causing cuts and pain, according to police. Police said the man also tried to remove the turban from the head of the teen, who is a member of the Sikh faith, before getting off the bus and running along Liberty Avenue.
Harpreet Singh Toor, the former president of the Sikh Cultural Society, said when the war between Israel and Hamas erupted last week, he feared an uptick in hate crimes even though the Sikh community is not involved in the conflict.
"Why target us," he asked. "Just because we follow our faith? And we keep our articles of faith? Just because of that?”
Philippeaux was charged with hate crime assault; attorney information for him was not immediately available.
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Deputy Commissioner Mark Stewart said the department has seen some recent hate crimes in the city fueled by the war in the Middle East.
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"We don’t tolerate it," Stewart said. "We don’t condone it.”
Anyone with more information regarding the suspect or the incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
