The incident was reported near Baxter and Worth streets just before 6:30 pm. No words were exchanged between the victim and the suspect.
The suspect left after the attack. Bystanders came to the rescue of the victim.
The 36-year-old Asian victim was taken to hospital.
The victim had to undergo surgery and officials say his condition is deteriorating,
The Asian Hate Crime Task Force has been brought in to assist in the investigation. Currently there is no evidence of a hate crime.
FYI … tonight by value and baxter, an Asian man was stabbed and the case is being handled and investigated by our @Newsurvey who also enlisted the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in the investigation. Currently there is no evidence of a hate crime.
Stay safe folks.– Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline) February 26, 2021
Sources say a person of interest walked into the Manhattan district attorney’s office and turned himself in to the police.
They say the on-site security guard has alerted authorities. Officers then arrived and took the suspect into custody.
Sources say they are currently being questioned at the 5th police station.
Community members said they were outraged and angry after the latest attack on an Asian New Yorker.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials spoke earlier this week about the city’s renewed efforts to tackle hate crimes against Asians.
“Every community has suffered, but there has been a certain pain, some terrible challenge that the Asian-American community faces,” said de Blasio. “Because in addition to all the suffering of the coronavirus itself, in addition to the loss of loved ones and the loss of businesses, people have faced terrible discrimination and hatred.”
The Asian Hate Crime Task Force is targeting the entire city, but will pay particular attention to the subways following an outbreak of incidents in the transit system.
Community leaders say the incident is just another reason why the task force should be funded and staffed with full-time officers.
“You have to be able to give them the resources they need to focus on solving the problem,” said community attorney Jenny Low. “I believe they have very good agents who are well trained for this. But a volunteer performance is still a volunteer performance.”
RELATED | Mayor de Blasio says Asian Hate Crime Task Force is working to fight many biased crimes in NYC
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