Consul General Elmer G. Cato presides over a press conference outside Yonkers City Hall. Contributed photo
NEW YORK — The Philippine Consulate General in New York on Monday called on authorities “to do more to protect the vulnerable” as it expressed outrage over a violent anti-Asian hate attack that left a 67-year-old Filipino woman seriously injured.
The latest incident took place on Friday evening and came a few days after the Consulate reminded members of the Filipino Community to be vigilant and to take the necessary precautions following two shoving incidents in Queens that left two elderly Filipino women injured.
According to the Consulate the victim was entering her apartment building in Yonkers, New York, when she was attacked from behind by the suspect who punched and stomped her more than 125 times. The victim, who sustained fractures and lacerations to the head and face as well as bleeding in the brain, is recovering in a hospital.
“We are outraged by this unspeakable act committed against another elderly member of the Filipino Community,” Consul General Elmer G. Cato said on social media. “This is the third incident in less than a week where elderly kababayan have become victims of random violence.”
“We call on authorities to do more to protect the vulnerable. We remind kababayan to be extra vigilant and to take the necessary precautions, especially in public,” Cato added.
He said the suspect, who had 14 previous arrests and multiple convictions, was immediately arrested and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime as he was shouting anti-Asian slurs while he was beating up the victim.
Cato said the Consulate is in touch with authorities in Yonkers and is also trying to reach the family of the victim.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Consulate expressed concern over the latest incidents that followed similar assaults against other members of the Asian-American Community since the start of the year. It said that the recent spate of attacks against Filipinos and other Asian-Americans—whether triggered by racial bias or mental illness—is a serious concern that must be immediately addressed.
On Thursday, 10 March 2022, a Filipina in her late 50s, who walks with a cane and suffers from poor eyesight, was injured after she was shoved down the stairs by an unidentified man at the 179th Street Station of the F Train in the neighborhood of Jamaica in Queens. On the same day, a Filipina in her mid-60s was pushed by an unidentified man at the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train platform, also in Jamaica, causing her to land on her face and breaking her eyeglasses in the process. She sustained multiple injuries.
The Yonkers incident brings to three the number of attacks involving members of the Filipino Community in New York that have been reported to the Consulate this year. There were 23 incidents reported to the Consulate last year.
