NEW YORK — Police say 48-year-old Christian Jeffers was arrested on hate crime charges after allegedly attacking a 29-year-old Asian man with a hammer Tuesday night.
Jeffers was charged with assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon.
According to the NYPD, the attack happened shortly after 9 p.m. at the 14th Street station on the 1, 2 and 3 lines in Chelsea.
The NYPD says the victim was hit with a hammer after he accidentally bumped into Jeffers on the platform.
Jeffers fled the scene and the victim was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The victim was conscious and alert after the attack and is expected to be okay.
The NYPD is on high alert as hate crimes so far this year have more than doubled, with 89 reported so far in 2022 compared to the 41 recorded during the same time last year. Crimes specifically against Asians have increased as well.
This is the second subway attack involving a hammer in the last two weeks.
"We are grateful for the outstanding police work by the NYPD who were able to locate and arrest the person who attacked one of our riders within 24 of the incident," Janno Lieber, the MTA Chair and CEO, said in a statement. "We will always stand up for our customers and their safety, and we expect this perpetrator of a hate crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Back on Feb. 24, Health Department researcher Nina Rothschild was hit multiple times and robbed at the Queens Plaza station.
Rothschild suffered a fractured skull.
William Blount, 57, was later arrested for that attack.
He's facing a number of charges including attempted murder.