RNA - Two separate attacks in Brooklyn are being investigated as hate crimes, after the victims were questioned about their ethnicity and religion and then pummeled by attackers, police said.
On December 4th, a 20-year-old man was confronted by a group of six men around 4:45pm on Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The men aggressively asked about his ethnicity, saying “Are you Indian or Muslim?” according to police sources.
The assailants also stated “You guys are dirty” before the man was punched in the face and pushed to the ground. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for a broken jaw.
Over a week later, on December 14th, a 58-year-old man was walking along Marcus Garvey Blvd just before 4pm when he was approached by a man who inquired about his religion before punching him in the face. “Where are you from? Saudi Arabia?” The victim was treated at Woodhull hospital for his injuries.
Authorities believe that the man from Wednesday’s attack was one of the men involved in the Dec. 4 assault.
The suspect in both attacks is described as a black male, approximately 35-years-old, 160 lbs, 6-foot, wearing a black hoodie jacket with a white design and grey sweat pants.
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