A man who was arrested last month in New York City for committing a string of attacks on seven Asian women has been indicted 12 hate-crime charges, prosecutors said Monday.
Steven Zajonc, 28, assaulted seven separate Asian women over the course of three hours while walking the span of 30 blocks in Manhattan, New York.
He has been charged with six felony counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and seven counts of second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor hate crime, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a .
Around 6.30pm on February 27, Zajonc punched a 57-year-old Asian woman in the face. Over the next three hours he punched or otherwise hurt six other Asian woman, aged 19 to 57, without provocation, police said.
‘Within just three hours, Steven Zajonc selectively ambushed seven Asian women in separate assaults, some of which he struck from behind — for no other reason than their perceived race,’ Bragg said.
The attacks took place on the east side of Manhattan between Houston and East 30th streets.
In several of the attacks, Zajonc approached the women from behind before striking them in the face, either with a closed first or his elbow. In the final attack, which took place between 8.30 and 9pm that night, Zajonc shoved a woman to the ground.
Six of the victims suffered injuries following the unprovoked attacks, including bleeding lacerations and bruising to their faces. One of the victims was knocked unconscious by Zajonc, and had to be taken to an area hospital to be treated for a concussion.
Zajonc fled after each attack, but was later recognized by a New York Public Library employee who recognized him from footage shared by police following the attacks.
He was apprehended by police on March 2.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is currently investigating 27 hate crime cases against Asian Americans, Bragg said in the statement.
‘These attacks on seven New York women, each fueled by anti-Asian hate, are yet another sobering reminder of the demonstrable fears AAPI communities, particularly AAPI women, in our city continue to face,’ Bragg said.
Anti-Asian hate crimes have surged since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Cities, like New York City, have seen the sharpest uptick in such crimes.
In January, 40-year-old Michelle Go was shoved in front of an oncoming subway train in Times Square. One week later a 62-year-old man was shoved off the subway platform onto the tracks, but was able to pull himself out unscathed.
Then in February, 35-year-old Christina Yuna Lee was stabbed over 40 times by a man who followed her home into her New York City apartment. Most recently, in Yonkers, a city north of Manhattan, a 67-year-old Asian woman was punched over 125 times by a man in an unprovoked attack.
Zajonc is due back in court on July 18.
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