NYPD Hate Crimes
- Yao Pan Ma was collecting cans to support his family when he was attacked in NYC last week.
- Ma's wife told the New York Daily News that he lost his job due to the pandemic.
- Police identified the suspect who attacked Ma as 49-year-old Jarrod Powell.
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The 61-year-old Asian man who was attacked in New York City last Friday was collecting cans to support his family after losing his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yao Pan Ma worked at a restaurant in the city before he became unemployed when the pandemic started last year, his wife, Baozhen Chen, told the New York Daily News.
"We weren't qualified for employment reimbursement, so only I'm working during the pandemic," Chen told the outlet. "He was just trying to help out the family. He had no bad intentions. He wouldn't cause trouble with other people in his neighborhood."
Ma was walking with a cart full of cans when he was struck by the attacker. Video released by the New York Police Department shows the suspect stomping on Ma's head multiple times before walking away.
Police on Tuesday identified that suspect as 49-year-old Jarrod Powell, who was charged with two counts of felony assault, according to ABC 7 New York reporter CeFaan Kim.
-CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) April 27, 2021
Ma's family told WABC-TV that he is still in a coma. A GoFundMe created to assist the family has raised over $360,000.
The attack comes amid a wave of violent incidents reported targeting Asians. Last month, a 65-year-old Filipina-American woman was attacked in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood while two nearby doormen stood by. The two doormen, who were seen on video watching as the woman was knocked to the ground and verbally assaulted, were later fired.