What to Know
- Police are searching for an individual they say is responsible for spraying two men on two separate occasions this past Sunday with a fire extinguisher in a series of possible hate crimes in Brooklyn.
- The first reported incident involved a 72-year-old man said he was approached by an unknown group and sprayed, police said.
- Another victim, a 66-year-old man, was sprayed and punched in a separate incident, police said.
Police are searching for an individual they say is responsible for spraying two men on two separate occasions this past Sunday with a fire extinguisher in a series of possible hate crimes in Brooklyn.
According to police, on Sunday, at around 6:06 a.m. police responded to a 911 call in the vicinity of Taylor Street and Lee Avenue. Once police arrived, a 72-year-old man said he was approached by a group of unidentified individuals, and one sprayed him with a powder from a fire extinguisher, police said, adding that apparently words were not exchanged between the two parties leading up to the attack.
Police said they responded to another call that same day in the area of Roebling and 3rd streets for a similar attack to a 66-year-old man who was also sprayed on with fire extinguisher and then punched by an individual in a group that approached him. The man refused medical attention on scene.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the two incidents.
Police made public video and photos related to the incidents and urge anyone with information to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
