A Manhattan man was arrested after an unprovoked attack on a 55-year-old Asian woman in Chinatown on Monday.
NYPD officers arrested Alexander Wright, 48, on Monday in connection with the case. He was charged with assault as a hate crime and criminal possession of a controlled substance, in addition to other charges.
The assault happened outside a restaurant in Chinatown. The woman was listed as in stable condition after being taken to a local hospital, and has since been released.
Wright was taken for a psychological evaluation.
According to the police commissioner, Wright has been in trouble many times. “Lives in a shelter, arrested eight times in the last year, randomly assaulting people, setting fires. The guy that was arrested on Friday setting fires. What are we doing in society, we’re releasing these people right back onto the street?”
The latest NYPD numbers show that hate crimes against Asians are up 353% in New York City since last year: 86 incidents this year so far, compared to 19 all of last year.