Asian woman bashed with hammer after stranger demands she remove mask

The New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating after two Asian women were attacked in Manhattan on Sunday, with one being hit in the head with a hammer.

The Asian women, ages 31 and 29, were seen walking on a sidewalk when an individual approached them and demanded they remove their face masks.

The individual, who was seen wearing all black, then attacked the women and “struck the 31-year-old in the head with a hammer causing a laceration,” according to a statement from the task force on Twitter.

“She was talking to herself, like talking to a wall, I thought maybe she was drunk or something, so we just wanted to pass through her quickly and when I passed through her, she saw us and said ‘Take off your f—ing mask,’ which is shocking,” Theresa told the outlet. “Suddenly I felt my head get hit by something.”

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/551608-asian-woman-in-new-york-bashed-with-hammer-after-stranger