Shocking video shows three teens harassing an Asian tourist family aboard a New York City subway before attacking a visitor and a Good Samaritan who tried to film the encounter.
Now the NYPD is seeking the identities of the suspects – all of whom were black – in a sexual assault that is being investigated as a hate crime.
Sue Young, 51, and her family were visiting the Big Apple from Nevada when they were approached around 8 p.m. Thursday night by three teens who smiled and pointed at them as they rode the F train at the West 4th Street station.
At first, Young tried to be a good sport, but realized the trio was up to no good. Young said it was “insult after insult, after insult,” she said CBS New York.
Her husband asked them to stop, causing one of the suspects to pull Young over to grind her hair, where she was repeatedly hit on the head before the suspects fled.
Passenger Joanna Lin, a witness to the disturbing exchange, took out her cell phone and began recording the cross-dressing before being beaten by the mobsters.
One of the teenagers who was part of the attack on the F train on Thursday
The photo shows when the three teenagers approach Sue Young and her family on the train
Police are searching for those involved and have released a photo of one of the teens featured in the video.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All conversations are treated confidentially.
Lin wrote that she “knew it was going to be bad” and took out her phone to record the incident.
“One of them saw me and tried to block the view (didn’t work).” Lin wrote.
The video showed one of the teens yelling at Young and her family while on the train.
Footage cut to Young and one of the suspects pointing at each other as they sat across from each other on the train. A man came over and tried to intervene. One of the suspects started yelling at the man while another made a line to Lin, forcing her to shut down the recording.
One of the teens tries to block the view of the brave passenger, Joanna Lin, who still managed to capture the disturbing event
Lin started recording again as the girls yelled at the Asian tourists as they sat on the train
A teen with dreadlocks then sprints towards Lin again and forces her to turn off the camera
Lin started recording again because the girls are just inches away from the family who are on the train. That’s when Lin reported calling 911 and reporting the incident.
A teen with dreadlocks then sprints towards Lin again and forces her to turn off the camera. Lin said she was beaten during the play.
Lin resumed recording and said a brawl broke out as passengers tried to avoid hitting the family. The teen with dreadlocks runs towards Lin again while she is recording, and Lin was dragged by her hair.
Lin wrote in part on social media that she was still “in shock and still couldn’t find words.”
“I’ll be fine, just a little head and tailbone pain,” she wrote before urging other riders to be careful. “Please be safe and share this video to raise awareness.”
She also apologized for what she described as the “premature use of the hashtag in the last frame.”
“Although racial slurs were used, I believe this is an incident of subway violence and harassment caused by delinquents – we need to teach our youth not to hate and to control their anger, as it is toxic, triggering and contagious.”
Her post received more than 10,000 likes.
This image shows the three teens sitting across from the Young family with one of the girls hands up in the air during the dispute
Young told CBS that while Lin was being attacked — by the same person who attacked her — she pushed the teen off.
Other people on the train were able to intervene and help Young and her family and Lin get off the train safely.
“My glasses are broken,” Young said. ‘I’ve had a headache for a few days because my hair was being pulled and my scalp was very sensitive. I got a whiplash on my neck,” Young said.
Despite the physical pain she endured – Young said she can heal from that – she hopes the trio will be held accountable.
As a mother of two 11-year-old twin daughters, she wants it to be a learning experience for her children.
Jo-Ann Yoo, president of the Asian American Federation, told DailyMail.com on Monday that she and her colleagues viewed the video with “broken hearts and disappointment.”
“As we provide services through our Hope Against Hate campaign and deal with the continued need for support services from those struggling with the aftermath of verbal and physical attacks, we continue to warn that anti-Asian hatred continues.
“This video is a call to all New Yorkers to treat each other with patience and respect, and safety is something we should all strive for. Our shared security depends on every New Yorker looking out for each other.”