A Japanese pianist was physically assaulted outside the New York subway by eight people for being "Chinese."
The incident occurred on the evening of September 27 as Tadataka Unno was coming out of a subway station near his home.
Unno escaped his first assailant outside the station, but was chased and beaten by a larger group according to reports.
During the attack, he heard those who attacked him saying the word "Chinese".
According to a New York Police Department email sent to Newsweek, as Unno attempted to walk around a group blocking the subway exit, he was pushed from behind.
One of the females then shouted "you bumped into me!" and another male stated, "My girl is pregnant!"
"The male then proceeded to punch the victim in his face and body. The victim attempted to flee but the male continued to attack him, causing him to fall to the ground," the NYPD email said.
Unno's attackers reportedly broke his right collar bone and bruised his head and body, according to a GoFundMe page set up in support of the jazz musician's family.
After the attack, the pianist was rushed by ambulance to Harlem Hospital.
The fundraising page, started on October 4 by one of Unno's musician colleagues, has so far raised more than $92,000.
He is scheduled to undergo an operation on his shoulder on October 10, according to an update posted to the page.
Unno provides for his family by playing the piano, the page states. Due to his broken collar bone, he cannot play at the moment and does not know when he will be able to again.
"I can't get out of the house because of the great mental and physical damage, but I felt the love of everyone. I don't know the future of the music industry as a whole due to the corona, but I can only do music. I wish I could thank you all," Unno told Asahi Shimbun on October 6.
Besides covering his medical expenses, the money donated to Unno's family will be used "to move to a neighborhood where they feel safer".
The New York Police Department recently published crime statistics covering the first nine months of this year.
It shows that hate crimes, in general, have decreased by 33 percent, from 308 in 2019 to 206 this year in the relevant time frames.
Hate crimes against members of the Asian community stayed the same, with 3 incidents reported up to September 27 both this year and last year. However, it is unclear whether Unno's attack was included in this statistic.
The NYPD said that there have been no arrests connected to Unno's assault and that the investigation is ongoing.
