MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: A Brooklyn man has been charged for allegedly committing a hate crime against an Asian individual in Chinatown. A 36-year-old man was stabbed in the back and according to the police, it was because the perpetrator did not like the way the victim looked at him.
According to a report in Daily Mail, Salman Muflihi, 23, allegedly used an eight-inch knife while walking near the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse located in the Chinatown neighborhood. The incident occurred at 6.20 pm on Thursday, February 25 when the victim was walking home. Following the attack, Muflihi ran into a security guard at the Manhattan district attorney's office building on Hogan Place and said, "I just stabbed someone. Where are the police at?"
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Police also confirmed that Muflihi told them that he stabbed the victim "because he didn't like the way he looked at him". The victim has not been identified as of now, and he has been transported to the Bellevue Hospital. However, on Friday, the victim's condition worsened to 'semi-stable' because of damage to vital organs. A source was also quoted by the publication saying that the patient's liver and right kidney had to be removed during the surgery. The cops recovered the knife near the scene of the attack. Initially, Muflihi, a Bensonhurst resident, was charged with attempted criminally negligent homicide, criminal possession of a weapon, assault and possession of a fake ID.
The hate crime charge was added to the charges of murder and assault after the police found out that Meflihi had punched a 28-year-old Asian individual in NYC in January. This is also not the first time that Meflihi had assaulted someone. In September 2019, he had allegedly assaulted his brother. The police also reported that the perpetrator is emotionally disturbed.
It has been observed by officials that hate crimes against Asians have increased since the onset of pandemic. At least 28 incidents of 'Covid-related' hate crimes have been recorded since. The reference to the hate crimes was made by Mayor Bill de Blasio who also slammed this attack. De Blasio said, "Even as we're sounding the alarm and calling for people to band together to stop hate, we had a horrible incident yesterday, a horrible act of violence against an Asian-American man — out of nowhere, just pure hatred," and added, "The suspect has been apprehended. We're hoping and praying for this man as he fights for his life."
Recently in Oakland, a 71-year-old woman was attacked while walking across the sidewalk. Two unidentified men approached her and had tried to rob her by snatching her purse and her son had tried to chase after the robbers, but he returned to help his mother.
