NYC subway driver beaten and racially slurred for refusing to give way, police say
Two New York teenagers have been charged with hate crime assault after they allegedly beat up a subway passenger who refused to give up his seat and made anti-Asian statements to him, police said.
Dream Commisso, 19, was arrested on Tuesday for hate crimes, aggravated harassment, assault, threats and harassment. A 17-year-old, who has not been named because of his age, was arrested Thursday on the same charges.
The subway attack took place at 8 p.m. on November 19 at the corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street, aboard the S train at Grand Central Station.
The teens asked a 42-year-old man to get up from his subway seat, “made anti-Asian statements and punched him repeatedly and threatened his life,” New York police said.
Commisso called the victim an “Asian pig”, police said.
Authorities are looking for a third suspect in the subway assault, according to a post on the NYPD Hate Crimes Twitter Page.
Hours after the incident, police say the duo were also involved in the robbery and assault of a 40-year-old food delivery man.
A group that included the teenage suspects approached the man at 351 E. 103 St. at 11:10 p.m. while he was riding an electric bicycle northbound on 1st Avenue and demanded food.
He told them he had no food in his delivery bag and the group “then ripped open the bag and hit him over the head”, police said.
They took his keys and when the victim tried to retrieve them, he was “cut by punches and kicks with water thrown at him”, police said.
Commisso and the 17-year-old have been charged with robbery and assault in connection with the latest incident, officials said. She also faces a charge of petty larceny.
Commisso’s combined bail was set at $7,501 and she was released on Thursday, according to online court and jail records. His next court appearance is scheduled for December 5.
NBC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.
The 17-year-old’s status was unknown on Friday.
Attacks on the Asian American community have increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Stop AAPI Hate reporting forum has collected data on nearly 11,500 anti-Asian incidents since March 2020, the group reported in July.
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