A woman has been arrested in what New York City police say was a string of anti-Asian hate crimes dating back to May.
Police say they took 25-year-old Maricia Bell into custody Thursday. Bell has been accused of stealing sunglasses from a person of Asian descent on May 23. She also allegedly attack three Asian victims on three separate occasions on June 16, July 11 and July 21.
All of the incidents occurred in Queens.
In the latest unprovoked attack on Wednesday, police say Bell attacked an elderly woman with a hammer. The victim was left in serious but stable condition, according to the NYPD.
Bell has been charged with three counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of robbery as a hate crime.
No other information was immediately available.
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