A man sought after by police after assaulting an elderly Asian-American woman in New York City was arrested on Wednesday and charged with a hate crime, authorities said.
Authorities charged the suspect, a parolee convicted of killing his mother nearly two decades ago, with a felony assault as a hate crime.
Police said the attack happened at about 11:40 a.m. on Monday on 360 West 43rd Street two blocks from Times Square. Elliot was seen in a video approaching the woman and then kicking and stomping her while also making “anti-Asian statements.”
A hospital spokesperson told The Associated Press the woman was discharged from the hospital one day after the attack after being treated for serious injuries.
Elliot was living at a hotel that serves as a homeless shelter a few blocks from the scene of the attack, authorities said.
The suspect was released from prison in 2019 and is on lifetime parole after being convicted more than a decade ago for stabbing his mother to death in the Bronx in 2002.
That jump happened even as the total number of reported incidents dropped from 420 to 265.
“Like much of America we’ve seen a disturbing spike in hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans in New York City,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said during a press briefing earlier this month.
Other large cities also saw a rise in numbers last year, though overall Asian Americans rarely face such incidents. The majority of hate crime victims in New York City are Jewish.
