This browser does not support the Video element.
Brutal subway attack
A video posted online shows a man beating and choking an Asian man in a subway car. The video shows that no one intervened. The NYPD is investigating.
NEW YORK - A video appeared on social media Monday morning showing a disgusting and appalling incident unfolding on the subway.
The video, which was apparently shot on a Manhattan-bound J train in Bushwick, Brooklyn, shows someone relentlessly punching an Asian man in the head. The beating continues even when the victim curls up into the fetal position. With each blow to the head, the victim's body can be seen convulsing.
The video then shows the attacker then putting the victim in a stranglehold from behind. With his arm around the helpless victim's neck, the assailant locks his arms and appears to choke him unconscious.
At least one subway rider starts to yell "Stop, stop" but the attacker continues the assault, slamming the unconscious victim's face into a seat. The victim's limp body falls to the floor. The assailant then walks off the train as if nothing happened.
Not a single person intervened during the course of the beating.
Vicious beating of man on subway under investigation by Hate Crimes unit
"I'm still waiting for more detail from the city on the context of what happened," Rep. Grace Meng told FOX 5 NY, "but it really is concerning that people didn't seem to step in."
Helping strangers means breaking free of the bystander effect
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the attack. The unit shared the video tweet of the beating and asked for the public to send in any information that can help in the case.
The J train beating followed another violent weekend, which saw at least three more attacks on New Yorkers of Asian descent, including the targeting of a 65-year-old woman.
Man yelling anti-Asian slurs strikes woman in the face in Manhattan subway