Police File Hate Crime Charges in Subway Attack on Asian Man

Police filed hate crime charges against the man arrested in the alleged beating of a 68-year-old Asian man aboard a New York City subway last week, officials said Monday.

Narayange Bodhi, who is from Sri Lanka, was commuting on a northbound 1 train to his security job Friday afternoon when was punched in the head in an attack prosecutors say left the man unconscious.

The suspected attacker, 36-year-old Marc Mathieu, was initially arrested on Sunday for assault charges. The NYPD later filed charges for assault as a hate crimes, department officials confirmed Monday.

Marc Mathieu

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George Okrepkie was sitting across from Bodhi on the train when the suspect threw the punch. {snip}

“I could not believe that somebody would attack a man of that age,” he said. “Before I could even look he was standing on top of him.”

Okrepkie says he was watching something roll across the floor of the train when he heard the suspect appear next to Bodhi and say, “You. You Asian MF.”

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