Surveillance footage captured the moment a New York City man pulled out a katana knife and slashed at a group of men during a fight that he said started when the gang urinated on his building and hurled racial slurs at him and his brother.
Brothers John and Max Ong said the fight broke out outside Max’s Elizabeth Street building in Chinatown when a group of five men began urinating in the building on October 10, 2020.
Video showed John pulling out a katana blade during the fight and cutting one of the men, causing nerve and tendon damage.
Max told me WABC he saw the men urinating on his building when he asked them to stop and they responded by calling him racist names.
“He said, ‘(racial slur) is calling his boys,’” Max said. ‘[The man] said, ‘we’re going to have a gang fight.’ I said, ‘No, I’m calling the police.’
The fight broke out outside Max’s Elizabeth Street building in Chinatown when a group of five men began urinating on the building on October 10, 2020.
Video showed that during the fight, John Ong pulled out a katana blade and cut one of the men, causing nerve and tendon damage
John is able to retreat into the building and grab the knife as the group begins to walk away
Brothers John (left) and Max (right) Ong said the fight started when the gang urinated on their building and hurled racial slurs at them
One of the men is then seen trying to urinate on Max when John comes out and the same man shoves John.
“He says, ‘get my bag, I’m going to throw the (racial slur) away,’” Max said. “So my first reaction was to put some distance between him and his bag, and I gave him a shove and said leave.”
John was thrown against a fence, injuring his ribs, and Max’s legs and face were mauled.
“I heard my skull cracking and my ears ringing and I blacked out,” Max said.
Max called 911 for help, but they were unable to respond to the incident. During the 911 call, Max is heard saying, “I asked you not to urinate on my property and now you’re harassing me.”
“They also get racist… this guy called me an Asian asshole.”
The brawl makes its way into the street, allowing John to retreat into the building and grab the knife as the group begins to walk away.
The men turn around again and John is able to lunge at them as the fighting begins again.
Max and John carry the knife and chase the group down the end of the block, ending the fight.
Max called 911 for help and said, “They’re getting racist too…this guy called me an Asian motherfucker.”
John was thrown against a fence, injuring his ribs, and Max’s legs and face were mauled
Both brothers were charged for their roles in the brawl, but neither of the other men
Both brothers were charged for their roles in the brawl, but neither of the other men.
Max took a no-jail plea deal, which included five years of probation with a criminal record.
John will be sentenced on Tuesday and is considering a plea deal two and a half years in prison for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told WABC: “The victim suffered significant injuries after being attacked with brass knuckles and a sword, including permanent damage to his nerves and tendons.”
“Our ongoing investigation, which included a review of all available video surveillance and eyewitness interviews, determined that there was no evidence to charge anyone else at the scene with criminal conduct.”