NEW YORK (AP) — A Brooklyn man unprovoked assaulted an Asian-American woman in the face and later told police, “Chinese shouldn’t be in this country,” prosecutors said.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Mercel Jackson, 52, was arraigned on Feb. 17 on charges including assault, attempted assault and hate crimes in the Jan. 19 attack etc. charges.
“Brooklyn will not tolerate this cowardly attack against vulnerable members of our community,” Gonzalez said in a news release. “We will continue to work with our partners throughout the borough community to stand firm against hate crimes and Commit to bringing to justice those who attack individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.”
According to prosecutors, a 67-year-old Asian American woman was walking to a store near Clinton Hill when she heard shouting and saw Jackson walking toward her.
Prosecutors said Jackson approached the woman and punched her three times in the face, causing bruising and swelling.
Officers searched the area and arrested Jackson, who told police the Chinese should not be in the country and that they “looked like measles,” the district attorney said.
Jackson was ordered to hold $2,000 bail. A spokesman for the Legal Aid Society of New York, which represents him, said the group had no comment.
The attack is one of a string of attacks targeting Asian Americans in New York City, including the stabbing to death of Christina Yuna Lee in her lower Manhattan apartment earlier this month.
Police have arrested a man they say stabbed Lee after following her into her building.
