Surveillance photo of suspect
The NYPD has issued an alert about a suspect wanted in connection with an assault being investigated as a hate crime. The incident took place last month at the Columbus Circle subway station, and police are hoping someone from the public will be able to help them identify and locate the wanted individual.
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According to the police report, the incident occurred on Saturday, August 17 at about 4:45 p.m., when a 29-year-old man riding a northbound A train was approached by a stranger who yelled derogatory anti-LGBTQ+ remarks at him.
“The unidentified individual then punched the victim in the face as the train entered the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station,” according to the police report. The suspect then ran off in an unknown direction.
The victim went to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center for pain to the face and back, and the incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
Police describe the suspect as “a male with a dark complexion and a slim build [who] was last seen wearing a purple bucket hat, a black tank top, black pants, and purple, black, and white sneakers. He was also wearing sunglasses and carrying a black plastic bag.”
Anyone with relevant information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by sending a direct message to @NYPDTips on Twitter.
Looks like a classic homophobic case afraid of his own identity.
Or more likely he grew up in a community where local religious institutions teach that being LGBT is wrong.
Yep, Southern Black church culture is violently homophobic. Ask one of their members, they’re clear about it.
I’ve lived in New York for 20 years and only in the past five have I been subjected to homophobic slurs and threats. Always unprovoked, on the train, and perpetuated by black men. I understand there is a desire to retaliate against white supremacy and the hate that has been inflicted on the black community by white hands, but please don’t go after your allies in the LGBTQ community.