NEW YORK (WPIX/CNN) - The family of a New York woman said she was punched and stabbed in a random subway attack that was driven by hate.
Eyewitnesses say the assailant hurled racial slurs at Ann Marie Washington.
“He started punching her in her face because she was black,” a witness at the scene said.
Itisha Washington, the victim’s daughter, said the attack was unprovoked and that her mom was just minding her business. She said her mom will be inside the Kings County Hospital for weeks.
“She will recover, but I’m more concerned about the psychological toll it will take on her,” Washington explained.
At 7:30 Friday evening, the victim was on her way home from work at a subway stop. Police told local media an unknown man approached her from behind and attacked.
“My mom was punched all over her body,” Washington said, “back, chest, head, face.”
A witness called police.
The victim was checked out by paramedics and decided to go home. At home, she realized her injuries were much more serious.
“She was stabbed by a pointy object. We don't know what it was. It could have been an ice pick of some sort,” Washington speculated.
As she recovers from a collapsed lung, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called on police to step up their search for a suspect.
He held a press conference steps away from where the victim was attacked.
The New York Police Department told local media its hate crimes task force is on the case.
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