A vicious beating aboard a New York City subway left a 68-year-old man bloodied and the witness that came to his aid says the attack was racially motivated.
Police say the seemingly random attack happened aboard a northbound 1 train in the middle of the afternoon on Friday. Narayange Bodhi, who is from Sri Lanka, was commuting to his security job when the suspect punched him in the head.
George Okrepkie was sitting across from Bodhi on the train when the suspect threw the punch. Okrepkie, a 9/11 survivor, says he was in shock.
"I could not believe that somebody would attack a man of that age," he said. "Before I could even look he was standing on top of him."
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Okrepkie says he was watching something roll across the floor of the train when he heard the suspect appear next to Bodhi and say, "You. You Asian MF."
Police have not released a motive for the attack or said if their investigators believe the attack was racially motivated.
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Okerpkie tried to grab the attacker but said the man escaped out the subway doors as the train came to a stop at the Franklin Street Station in Manhattan. That's when Okrepkie took off his scarf and helped wrap it around Bodhi to stop the bleeding.
Family members tell NBC New York Bodhi suffered bruising on his face and has absolutely no memory of what happened.
The suspected attacker, 36-year-old Marc Mathieu, was later arrested on Sunday, police said. He was charged with assault and it's unclear if he'll face additional charges.
The attack comes as New York City and many others parts of the country grapple with a rise in anti-Asian violence. So far this year, the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force has investigated at least 10 cases of hate crimes against Asians.
Hundreds, potentially thousands, of New Yorkers rallied, marched and attended vigils over the weekend to condemn the increase in attacks and honor the victims of the Atlanta-area shootings.
