A New York man was arrested after allegedly attacking an Asian man with a hammer at a subway station on Tuesday, a spokesperson from the New York Police Department told The Hill.
Christian Jeffers, 48, allegedly became aggressive after the victim accidentally bumped into him. After the contact, Jeffers reportedly hit the man in the head with a hammer.
The victim is in stable condition following the attack, which occurred at the 14th Street and 7th Avenue subway station around 9 p.m. local time.
New York City Police have recommended that Jeffers be charged with assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, according to CNN.
“We are grateful for the outstanding police work by the NYPD who were able to locate and arrest the person who attacked one of our riders within 24 (sic) of the incident,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair and CEO Janno Lieber told CNN.
He added, “We will always stand up for our customers and their safety, and we expect this perpetrator of a hate crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The attack comes after hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community have spiked since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The instances of violence against this population have risen by more than 300 percent.