A man was taken into custody Wednesday for questioning amid a wave of attacks on Asians in Manhattan, police sources said.
A 72-year-old Asian man was punched in the face in an unprovoked attack around 9:35 a.m. outside Pace High School near Hester and Eldridge Sts. on the Lower East Side, the sources said. His attacker ran off following the incident. EMS transported the elderly victim to New York Downtown Hospital in stable condition.
Cops were investigating if the attacker was connected to three other incidents — assaults of two other Asian men who suffered minor injuries, and the pickpocketing of an Asian woman, sources said.
“You Asian f—-, you f—-ing Asians,” the suspect allegedly yelled during the disturbing attacks, according to a source.
The man taken into custody fought with cops as he was being apprehended, sources said. One officer was transported to a local hospital with injuries.
The suspect, whom was described by officials as emotionally disturbed, has an arrest history, the sources said. Charges against him are pending.
The NYPD Hate Crimes task force is investigating the incident.
