NEW YORK — A 20-year-old man is facing several charges and another suspect is still being sought by authorities after police say the pair assaulted two Sikh men in Queens Tuesday.
Hezekiah Coleman was taken into custody and charged with robbery and assault as a hate crime, police said Wednesday.
According to the NYPD, a 76-year-old man and a 64-year-old man were approached by two unknown attackers on Lefferts Boulevard and 95th Avenue in Richmond Hill Tuesday morning.
The individuals beat the elderly men with “closed fists” and a wooden stick, authorities said.
The NYPD said the victims’ religious head garments were stripped from their heads during the attack.
Both victims were transported to Jamaica Hospital and are expected to survive.
Tuesday’s attack was the second assault on a Sikh man in less than two weeks. On April 3, a 70-year-old Sikh man visiting from India man was repeatedly punched in the face by an unknown attacker early in the morning while walking near Lefferts Boulevard.
In a statement, Councilwoman Joann Ariola condemned the assault, saying, “Hate has no home here” and called on Mayor Eric Adams to take “bold measures” to make the city safe again.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing.