Video Captures Man Pulling Asian Woman's Hair in NYC Attack

Video footage New York authorities released Wednesday showed a man pulling on an Asian woman's hair during an attack last month in Brooklyn.

The incident, which captured the attention of the New York Police Department (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force, is one of several anti-Asian attacks that have occurred in New York in recent days.

In the video, the attacker can be seen rapidly approaching the victim, whom police identified as a 32-year-old Asian woman. He then pushes her from the middle of the sidewalk to the side of a building, where she appears to reach up in an attempt to cover her head. The attacker then walks away from the woman and appears to strike the side of the building twice before the short 8-second video ends.

Police said the attack occurred around 7:45 a.m. local time on March 22 near 1308 Kings Highway. The male attacker had not been identified by Wednesday morning, authorities said.

In a Wednesday morning tweet, the NYPD hate crimes division said it was in the process of investigating the attack, which originally fell under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 61^st Precinct.

The attacker pulled his victim's hair during the incident, which police said caused "pain to her head and neck."

Authorities shared a picture of the attacker pulled from the video footage on social media. In the photo, the man is seen sporting facial hair and wearing a white sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head.

Individuals with knowledge of the attack or the attacker's identity were encouraged to contact the NYPD's tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Newsweek reached out to the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force for further comment and will update this article with any response.

According to a report released last month by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by nearly 150 percent last year in 16 of the largest cities in the U.S. The report attributed the rise in hate crimes in part to "negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic."

Another anti-Asian attack that occurred in New York last week gained widespread media attention after authorities released video of the incident on social media. In that incident, a man was seen punching and kicking a 65-year-old woman outside a building in Manhattan while making anti-Asian comments. Two of the building's doormen who were seen observing the attack were terminated on Tuesday, about a week after the incident occurred.