The NYPD said its looking for an unnamed woman accused of throwing hot coffee at a man at a Brooklyn playground in what is being called a hate crime assault.
Police are investigating an alleged hate crime assault at a Brooklyn playground, where a father said a woman hurled anti-Islamic statements -- followed by hot coffee -- at him and his son.
Ashish Prashar, 40, said he was at the Edmonds Playground on DeKalb Avenue Monday afternoon, with his 18-month-old son when his son went over to a boy playing basketball.
Prashar said a woman came charging over to him and asked if he supported Hamas.
"She goes 'you're a terrorist,'" Prashar said.
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Prashar, a political activist and writer, was wearing an Arab scarf of Keffiyeh on his daily trip to the park. He said he received the scarf as a gift a decade ago while working in the West Bank under then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"It was a gift given to me by a Christian-Palestinian," Prashar said.
Prashar, who is of Indian descent, said the woman threw her phone at him and then hot coffee towards him and his young son.
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"As I turned back, she threw hot coffee in my face, which if I didn't put my son down would have burned my son's face," he said.
The NYPD said Friday it is investigating the case as a hate crime assault and is being investigated by the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force. Police said they do not know the woman's identity but are looking for her in connection with the incident.
NBC New York initially showed a photo of the woman from Prashar but blurred her face. Police have since released a photo and video of the woman asking for the public's help in finding her.
Prashar was not injured during the incident, police said. Prashar said the woman left when a passerby stepped in to help. He said next time he comes to the park, he plans to come back with friends.
He is not the only person of Indian descent to be attacked since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Sikh community said they are regularly being called 'terrorists.' A student had his turban ripped from his head and an elderly driver was beaten to death in what has been ruled as a hate crime.
"This is post-9/11 again," Prashar said. "Like every brown person now is a target. We’ve been completely dehumanized by our president and our institutions."
Prashar once campaigned for President Biden but blames rhetoric he said puts him and others in danger.
"No parent should feel unsafe to take their child to a playground because someone decides you are less than human," he said.
