A shocking video shows three teenagers harassing an Asian tourist family on board a New York City subway before attacking a visitor and a Good Samaritan who wanted to film the encounter.
Now the NYPD is looking for the identities of the suspects – who were all black – in an attack being investigated as a hate crime.
Sue Young, 51, and her family were visiting the Big Apple from Nevada when they were approached around 8 p.m. Thursday night by three teenagers, who were laughing and pointing at them as they boarded the F train at the West 4th Street station.
At first, Young tried to be a good sport but realized the trio was up to no good. Young said it was “one insult after another, one after another,” she told CBS New York.
Her husband told her to stop, which resulted in one of the suspects pulling Young by the hair to the ground, where she was repeatedly hit on the head before the suspects fled.
Passenger Joanna Lin, a witness to the disturbing exchange, pulled out her cell phone and began recording the travesty before she was beaten up by the gangsters.
One of the teenagers involved in the attack that occurred on train F on Thursday
The photo shows the three teenagers approaching Sue Young and her family on the train
The police are looking for the people involved and published a picture of one of the teenagers seen in the video.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or in Spanish at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip through their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are treated confidentially.
Lin wrote that she “knew it was going to be bad,” and pulled out her phone to document the incident.
“One of them saw me and tried to block the view (didn’t work).” Lin wrote.
The video showed one of the teenagers yelling at Young and her family while they were on the train.
Footage shows Young and one of the suspects pointing at each other while sitting across from each other on the train. A man came up to him and tried to intervene. One of the suspects started yelling at the man while another approached Lin and forced her to stop the recording.
One of the teenagers tries to block the view of brave passenger Joanna Lin, who nevertheless managed to record the disturbing event
Lin started recording again as the girls yelled at the Asian tourists sitting on the train
Then a teenager with dreadlocks sprints towards Lin again, forcing her to turn off the camera
Lin began recording again when the girls were inches from the family on the train. When Lin reported that she called 911 and reported the incident.
Then a teenager with dreadlocks sprints towards Lin again, forcing her to turn off the camera. Lin said she was beaten during the role.
Lin resumed the recording and said a scuffle broke out as the passengers tried to stop the family from being hit. The teenager with the dreadlocks runs towards Lin again while she is recording, and Lin is pulled by her hair.
Lin wrote in part on social media that she was still “in shock and still speechless.”
“I’m fine just a little sore on my head and tailbone,” she wrote, before urging other riders to be careful. “Please be safe and share this video to raise awareness.”
She also apologized for what she described as “premature use of the hashtag in the last frame.”
“Although racial slurs were used, I believe this is an incident of subway violence and bullying by criminals. We must teach our youth not to hate and to control their anger because it is toxic, triggering and contagious.”
Her post received more than 10,000 likes.
This image shows the three teenagers sitting across from the Young family while one of the girls raises her hands in the air during the argument
Young told CBS that she pushed the teen away while Lin was being attacked by the same person who attacked her.
Other people on the train were able to intervene and help Young and her family, as well as Lin, get off the train safely.
“My glasses are broken,” Young said. “I’ve had a headache for a few days because my hair was being pulled and my scalp was very sensitive as a result. “I was like whiplash,” Young said.
Despite the physical pain she’s endured – Young said she’s healing from it – she’s hopeful the trio will take responsibility.
As a mother of two 11-year-old twin daughters, she wants this to be an educational moment for her children.
Jo-Ann Yoo, President of the Asian American Federation, told on Monday that she and her colleagues saw the video with “heartbroken and disappointment”.
“As we provide services through our Hope Against Hate campaign and address the ongoing need for support services for those dealing with the consequences of verbal and physical attacks, we continue to caution that anti-Asian hatred persists.
“This video is a call for all New Yorkers to be patient and respectful of one another, and safety is something we must all strive for.” “Our collective safety depends on every New Yorker looking out for one another.”