(CNN)Teen girls were charged with hate crimes after police said they attacked a woman on a New York bus, made “anti-Asian statements” toward her and told her she caused coronavirus.
Police said the four suspects attacked the 51-year-old victim on an MTA bus in the Bronx. They called her a expletive, said she caused coronavirus and asked her why she wasn’t wearing a mask, NYPD Lt. Thomas Antonetti told CNN.
Shortly after the incident, officers arrested three15-year-old girls near the scene. The teens were charged with hate crime assaults, menacing and harassment for the attack, the NYPD said.
A fourth suspect remains at large. Police believe she was the person who attacked the woman with an umbrella.
