Anti-gay attack: 22-year-old man viciously beaten on subway train

Man beaten in anti-gay subway attack

A 22-year-old man was beaten aboard a northbound A train in what police are calling an anti-gay attack.

NEW YORK - The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is asking for the public's help tracking down a violent attacker who punched a man and pulled his hair out while using an anti-gay slur aboard a subway train in Upper Manhattan.

The suspect was sitting across from the victim when he said: "I wish I had my pepper spray" and then spat on him. The suspect then said "I have to start carrying my pepper spray" and again spat on the man who then stood up.

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The suspect charged at the victim and grabbed him by the hair before punching him several times in the face and head. The suspect then ripped hair from the victim’s head and stated "I'm sick of all you *ags."

The victim lost hair and suffered cuts to his head. He was treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.

The attack occurred on Mar. 19 at about 2:22 p.m. as the northbound train approached the 190th Street station.

Subway crime concerns

Authorities in New York are struggling to get crime in the subway system under control. Despite the increased NYPD presence, commuters are still coming under attack seemingly every day.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

The assault came in the same week as a string of other violent subway assaults including a woman who pulled a knife on a man and then bit him in front of her young children.

String of shocking subway attacks

A woman assaulted a man on the A, C, E line near Port Authority with her two young children in tow. About an hour late, a 45-year-old woman was slashed in the face on a D train in the Bronx.