Sikh youngster comments on assault on NYC bus as “angry, shaken”
A Sikh youngster who was repeatedly pummeled on a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus in New York City said that the assault left him feeling “angry and shaken.”
On Sunday morning in Richmond Hill, the suspect accosted the 19-year-old when he was on a shuttle bus around 118th Street and Liberty Avenue and tried to take off his turban.
“This assault has shocked and infuriated me. In a statement to the US-based Sikh Coalition, the adolescent said, “I feel that no one should be abused or harassed because of how they appear, and everyone should be allowed to go about their business in public in peace.
He expressed his desire to stay anonymous while expressing gratitude to “everyone from different communities who have spoken out in support of me as well as the authorities who are taking this hate crime seriously.”
The Sikh Coalition has subsequently made contact with the young guy and is providing him with support and legal assistance. It continues to talk to the teenager and the New York Police Department (NYPD) on the ongoing inquiry into his assailant.
The suspect, who was identified by the NYPD via the release of a photo, was characterized as “a male, 25–35 years of age, dark complexion, slim build, about 5’9 tall, with brown eyes and black hair.”
The defendant pointed at the victim’s turban and said, “We don’t wear that in this country,” before punching the young Sikh multiple times and attempting to take it off.
The NYPD urged the public to assist in locating the man after he allegedly got off the bus and ran.
Amreen Partap Singh Bhasin, a staff attorney with the Sikh Coalition, said in a statement, “We are encouraged that this event is being investigated as a hate crime given that this young Singh’s turban was ridiculed and targeted throughout the assault.
Bhasin highlighted the instance of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American kid from Illinois who was recently stabbed 26 times in the aftermath of Israel-Palestine hostilities. He said that national and international events are fostering worry in our community and other communities.
According to the FBI’s most recent statistics on hate crimes, which was just published last week, “Sikhs continue to be disproportionately vulnerable to attacks like this one,” Bhasin added.
The FBI reported 198 instances of anti-Sikh hate crime victimization in its annual report of hate crime data for 2022, which was released on Monday.
The FBI said that victims of religiously motivated hate crimes had increased by 17% since 2021, and Sikhs continued to be the second-most often targeted minority in the country.
