New York Daily News

Cops: More virus-related hate attacks

- BY THOMAS TRACY

Police have arrested a 13-yearold boy for assaulting an Asian man in an East Harlem hate crime fueled by coronaviru­s fears, authoritie­s said.

The teen suspect surrendere­d with his mother Friday and was charged with assault and aggravated harassment for kicking the 59-year-old victim to the ground earlier this week, police said.

The man was walking down Madison Ave. near E. 103rd St. when the teen kicked him from behind about 7:50 p.m. Monday and yelled “F—- you, Chinese coronaviru­s!” as the victim fell to the sidewalk, cops said.

The man suffered cuts to his knees and hands, but was otherwise uninjured, police said. Cops put out surveillan­ce images of the suspect Thursday.

The teen is being charged as a juvenile. His name was not released because he is a minor, police said.

Meanwhile, cops in Queens are investigat­ing another hate crime attack fueled by panic over the disease.

The 47-year-old Asian victim and his 10-year-old son were near the corner of 70th Ave. and Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst about 6:50 a.m. Thursday when a man wearing a camouflage coat and pants approached and asked why the dad wasn’t wearing a mask.

The suspect (inset) cursed at the victim then pushed his head before walking away. The victim was not harmed.

Thursday’s incident is the fourth attack against Asians to plague the city during the coronaviru­s crisis.

On Tuesday, a 23-year-old Asian woman was punched in the face in Midtown by another woman who demanded to know why she wasn’t wearing a mask.

On Mar. 4, an unhinged straphange­r was caught on video spraying what looked like a bottle of Febreze at an Asian man on a Brooklyn train. No arrests have been made.

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