Twist in ‘attack’ viral vid
The man who filmed a viral video that shows an Asian man being attacked in a NYC subway station told The Post he believed the incident was vigilante justice, not ethnic hate.
The 35-year-old videographer, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was on his way home from work around 3:30 p.m. Friday when he saw the Asian man being held from behind on the A/C platform in the Fulton Street station.
“I said, ‘What are you doing? Why are you holding that guy?’ ” the filmer recalled. The black man holding the Asian man claimed the latter had just tried to sexually assault a woman in a subway car, so he pulled him off onto the platform.
But although the filmer called the cops twice, he said police didn’t arrive for about 20 minutes after his first call. Meanwhile, the man being held “was trying to get away the entire time,” he said.
As new onlookers arrived they were told the man had tried to assault a girl.
Then two other men suddenly attacked the alleged assaulter, the videographer said. One of the men slaps the Asian man in the face, causing his body to go limp, the video shows. Then a second man delivers a series of punches to his head, as some in the crowd cheer.
The footage was shared by the “Asian Crime Report” Twitter account Sunday and then retweeted by the NYPD Asian Hate Crimes Task Force.
The filmer said violence might have been avoided if police had arrived sooner.
An NYPD spokeswoman said the department was looking into the video. The cops also said no complaints of sexual assault had been filed.