Asian Woman Allegedly Attacked in New York Subway Station for Wearing Protective Mask

A woman in New York is being urged to come forward after she was allegedly attacked at a subway station while wearing a protective mask.

A video of the incident, which has been shared on social media, appears to show a woman running through Manhattan's Grand Street station before she is confronted by a male suspect who hits her with his feet, hands and an umbrella. A man's voice can be heard yelling, "Don't f****** touch me" during the short clip.

The clip was first posted to Facebook by a woman who only wished to be identified as Gin. According to a post, seen by NextShark and republished elsewhere on social media, a man noticed that the Asian woman was wearing a mask on her face and called her a "diseased b****."

The alleged remark is believed to be in response to the masks people have been wearing in order to protect themselves from the coronavirus, which has killed 492 people and infected more than 24,000 worldwide since the outbreak was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December.

"He gets up in her face when she doesn't respond and tries to intimidate her," said the Facebook post, which has since been taken down. "She tells him to go away, and he hits her head extremely hard before leaving the station. I started recording after that in an attempt to get his face.

"No one stepped in as she was getting beaten with an umbrella until I pulled him off. He ran out of the station shortly after. I truly believe that wearing a mask in NYC right now marks you as a target. So please be careful, and stand up for your friends."

The video of the attack was also posted to Twitter by New York resident Tony He.

"What people are forgetting is that many Asians wore face masks way before the #coronavirus trend. They came in many varieties," He tweeted. "The ones who wore the surgicals were doctors, nail techs, collected cans, or worked in a dim sum spot. The rest were worn by artists and celebrities.

"But it's taken a f****** crisis just for people to notice them. This is why incidents involving Asians never go viral. People think we're so docile and timid, and that 'nothing ever happens to us.' So if and when they do, they get swept under the rug. People are in so much denial that videos like this make them question authenticity."

In response to the clip, the New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force tweeted: "The NYPD and the Hate Crime Task Force encourage the victim to report this incident to the police for a full investigation."

The department has been contacted for further comment.