The NYPD is looking for a suspect who allegedly assaulted a man on a northbound 4 train at the 167 Street station and made several homophobic and racist remarks to the victim in an incident the police are classifying as a hate crime that occurred just before midnight Wednesday in the Highbridge section.
According to police, the suspect approached the 43-year-old on the train, verbally berating him with anti-gay and nationalistic remarks, calling the victim “Mexican garbage” before punching the man in the face. Police say that the suspect did flash a knife, but did not use it in the attack. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the event, or who recognizes the man in the sketch to come forward.
The victim was treated on the scene for minor injuries to his face and did not require further medical attention. The whereabouts of the suspect, who fled the 167 Street station shortly after the attack, are unknown, according to police on Wednesday.
The investigation remains ongoing by NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident 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 CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
