Brooklyn man charged with hate crime in assault on Asian senior
A Brooklyn man has been indicted for hate crimes after allegedly assaulting an Asian American woman in an unprovoked attack in Clinton Hill and allegedly telling police that Chinese people are not supposed to be in this country.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez identified the defendant as Mercel Jackson, 52, of Crown Heights. He was arraigned Thursday on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree assault, second-degree attempted assault, third-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree assault, third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, third-degree attempted assault, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, third-degree menacing, second-degree aggravated harassment and second-degree harassment.
Gonzalez said that on Jan. 19, 2022, at approximately 9:18 a.m. on Classon Avenue near Greene Street, the victim, a 67-year-old Asian American woman, was walking to the store when she heard yelling and saw Jackson walking toward her.
He then allegedly approached the woman and punched her about the face three times, causing bruising and swelling. Police responded and arrested Jackson after canvassing the area. He allegedly told police that Chinese people are not supposed to be in this country and that Chinese people are “a funny looking character” and “they look like the measles.”
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View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.