The increase in anti-Asian violence in America does not seem to be letting up. The latest victim is an 18-year-old Filipino tourist from Cebu who was attacked in Manhattan, the Philippine Consul General in New York has confirmed.
The young tourist was reportedly walking near the Philippine Center in Manhattan on Wednesday with three other Filipinos when he was assaulted by an unidentified suspect, who was later subdued and handed over to the police.
The victim suffered facial injuries.
Consul General Elmer Cato advised the Filipino community in the Big Apple, as well as Filipino tourists, to “exercise necessary precautions while on the streets or in the subways.”
While the consul general said it is still unknown whether the victim was targeted because of his race, he noted that it was the 41st incident this year of a Filipino being the victim of a criminal act in New York state. They include several elderly Filipinos who have been brutally assaulted, including a 67-year-old woman who was punched 125 times in Yonkers.
Last month, a Filipino family was physically and verbally attacked by a man in North Hollywood, California, after he bumped into their family car while ordering at a fast food drive-thru. He reportedly mocked them in a racist accent while saying “You’re so Asian” and “I’ll kill you.”
READ: ‘So Asian’: Filipino family attacked at California drive-thru
In another incident, a Filipino lawyer visiting the United States was shot to death in Philadelphia on July 18 while on his way to the airport.
