The daughter of a 68-year-old white woman who was attacked on a subway platform in Manhattan on Monday afternoon says she believes the attack against her mother was racially motivated.
Police are searching for a suspect in the alleged assault who can be seen on video hopping a turnstile on the New York City subway. A family member of the woman told ABC 7 News that her mother saw the man walk past her before getting pushed to the ground, beaten, and shoved onto the tracks.
The daughter says her mom sustained five broken bones in her spine and one broken rib. The daughter also believes the attack was racially motivated since no personal items were stolen and the assailant allegedly called the victim a cracker during the incident.
"He didn't take the phone. He didn't take her wallet. He didn't take her bag," the daughter said. "Being that he called her a cracker as he was attacking her and now we're thinking it's just because she was white."
ABC 7 News reports the victim, a Serbian immigrant, is thankful for two good samaritans who helped pull her from the tracks.
Police are describing the suspect as being around 40 to 50 years of age. He was last seen barefoot, wearing denim shorts and a dark shirt with a logo on it. The man is wearing a surgical mask around his neck in video released by the police.
In June, a black man was captured on video punching a white Macy's employee in Michigan who was harmlessly folding clothes. Following an investigation, Macy's concluded the attack was "unprovoked."
In New York City, a 92-year-old woman was sucker-punched on the sidewalk causing her to fall and hit her head on a fire hydrant. 31-year-old Rashid Brimmage was arrested in connection with the attack. Brimmage is a convicted sex offender with over 100 prior arrests. Brimmage only received desk appearance tickets for his most recent arrests thanks to New York's bail reform, a senior law enforcement official told News 4.
There were also recent attacks against other elderly individuals in New York City and on the subway.
Are these victims being targeted simply because of their skin color? Would any other motive besides racism be acceptable had the skin colors of the suspect and the victims been reversed?