Coronavirus News: NYPD report shows bias crimes against Asian Americans on the rise
CHINATOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- Bias attacks against Asian Americans are on the rise according to the NYPD's latest crimes report for April.
The narrow streets of Chinatown felt like a hauntingly, empty movie set on Monday night.
As if this once vibrant community has not suffered enough, officials announced on Monday that hate crimes and bias incidents against Asian Americans are on the rise.
Police counted 14 hate crimes last month, 15 Asian American victims and 11 arrests -- all seemingly related to COVID-19.
On April 5 in Brooklyn, detectives say a man poured some kind of acid on an Asian American woman as she tried to take out the garbage. No arrest has been made.
On April 26 in Queens, officials believe another man made hostile anti-Asian comments towards a 36-year-old woman.
When she tried to photograph him, she says he slapped her cell phone out of her hand and it shattered on the ground. He has not been caught.
And in another open case, police are still looking for a young woman who is suspected of smashing an Asian American woman on the head with an umbrella while on a city bus.
Assemblyman Ron Kim says he and his staff have suffered many racist comments.
These are just the reported cases. Elected officials fear the real numbers are actually much higher and they are encouraging victims to come forward.
This jump in hate crimes is quite a contrast to the fact that the major crime index fell in every borough last month by almost 30 percent compared to last year.
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