CUFFED IN HATE BASH ON RAILS
Friendly kiss sent anti-gay man into frenzy
First came a friendly kiss from a friend, followed by a savage sucker-punch from a gay-bashing goon.
The 20-year-old victim of a brutal Nov. 20 assault aboard an E train in Queens told the Daily News how quickly things morphed from fun-loving to hatefueled when she and her best friend crossed paths with a madman during a rush-hour subway ride.
The victim said her friend “gave me a kiss on the cheek while she was making a Snapchat” — an innocent start to a nightmare that left her with a spinal fracture. Though the peck was platonic, police say suspect Allssheed Allah flew into a rage at the sight.
“That’s when the guy across from us started screaming slurs at us … I guess the kiss triggered him,” recounted the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The hulking homophobe then threatened the pair: “Don’t do that gay s--- in front of me! Do that one more time and watch what happens!”
When the two students stood to find new seats, the screaming man sprang to his feet and bum-rushed them from behind.
“I knew he was going to hit me,” the college student continued Thursday. “He punched me in the back. I turned around and before I could even defend myself …. he threw me back. My head hit the pole and my back hit the ground.”
Allah, 54, of Harlem, was arrested Wednesday night and charged with aggravated harassment and assault as a hate crime. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
“Queens County is the most diverse county in the nation. It is home to many races, nationalities and sexual orientations,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “Crimes motivated by bias — particularly those involving violence — will never be tolerated in this county.”
A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered Allah held on $150,000 bail at arraignment Thursday night. Prosecutors said his criminal record includes three felony convictions and 23 misdemeanor convictions, but they did not disclose the nature of the charges.
Allah was busted by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force. Prosecutors said he confessed to the crime and detailed his behavior and his anti-gay remarks before the assault.
“I stood up and told her kiss her again you d--e (expletive) and watch what happens,” he allegedly told authorities. “I pushed the girl, she turned around and then she fell.”
Allah managed to flee the train when it stopped at the Forest Hills-71st Ave. stop despite the efforts of the injured girl’s friend to follow the assailant.
After the attack, the young victim was hospitalized with a C7 vertebrae fracture near the base of the neck, along with torn ligaments in both elbows from her violent landing. The woman, who was initially taken to Elmhurst Hospital, still wore a neck brace Thursday, nearly a month after the attack. But after the attack, she returned immediately to school for exams.
The victim said she couldn’t escape the darkness that surrounded her after the assault.
“I cried a lot the first week,” she said. “It really got to me. You never think these things will happen to you … I’m like, ‘That would never happen to me because I’m too careful.’”
Her family learned of Allah’s arrest while watching the news Thursday on NY1. The young girl breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the suspect was in custody.
“I’m relieved that he’s off the street,” she said. “I’m still kind of scared, but I hope I don’t change the type of person I am.
“Bad things happen, but good things happen all the time. Hopefully I can move on from it.”