Straphanger’s Spine Fractured During Subway Hate Crime Attack

Inset: Still image of a suspect wanted for seriously injuring a woman on an E train on Nov. 30. Photo courtesy of the NYPD. Background image via the MTA.

By Christina Carrega

A man is wanted by the police for a hate crime attack onboard a Manhattan-bound E train that left a straphanger hospitalized with a fractured spine.

During rush hour Friday, the unidentified suspect got into a verbal argument with a 20-year-old woman and used a homophobic slur against her, police said. The man assumed the woman was a lesbian.

The victim attempted to walk away from the hate-spewing man, but the suspect allegedly punched her in the back of the head and pushed her to the ground, where she hit her head.

Sometime during the incident, the woman recorded a video of the assailant on her cell phone.

The suspect got off the train at the Forest Hills/71 Avenue station and is described as being 5-foot 11, 220 pounds and between 50 and 60 years old, police said.

The woman was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center where she was treated for a fractured spine.

The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.