What to Know
- A woman was shot with a BB gun by men laughing and shouting an anti-Hispanic slur from their car, police say
- The woman said she'll need plastic surgery to remove the BB
- The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating
A woman walking on a sidewalk in Queens was shot in the face with a BB gun by men laughing and yelling an anti-Latino slur from their car, police say.
The 55-year-old woman was crossing a street near Eliot Avenue and 69th Street in Middle Village early Tuesday when a white sedan pulled up beside her.
Someone inside the vehicle shot at her with the BB gun while yelling the anti-Latino slur, police said. She told NBC 4 New York that the men were laughing and saying "we did it" during the attack.
Video obtained exclusively by News 4 New York shows the woman suddenly stopping as she walks near the car.
"I know it's a BB gun, because I feel the impact in my face," she said.
She went to a hospital, where a BB was discovered lodged in her cheek.
Local
"It's still inside right now," she said Thursday night.
She told NBC 4 New York that she'll need plastic surgery to remove the BB ball.
The woman said she is an immigrant from Bolivia and that she believes she was targeted because she is Hispanic. She said she's hoping the men are caught because New York is a city of immigrants and she doesn't want to see anyone else targeted like she was.
"New York is a beautiful city," she said. "That's why it's beautiful. They have to stop doing this to people."
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the attack.
Authorities said that no other incidents have been linked to the alleged attackers.
