Man accused of attacking seven Asian women in NYC to face felony hate-crime charges

A 28-year-old man has been indicted on 13 counts after attacking several Asian women in one night, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Monday.

The victims were all women of Asian descent ranging in age from 19 to 57, police said. Most were punched in the face; one was shoved to the ground. Two were treated at hospitals.

Zajonc, whose home address is registered at a drop-in shelter, is accused of physically assaulting, by means of punching, shoving, or elbowing seven women between 6:30 p.m. and 8:40 p.m. on February 27, the New York Police Department previously told Insider, citing video evidence.

“These attacks on seven New York women, each fueled by anti-Asian hate, are yet another sobering reminder of the demonstrable fears AAPI communities, particularly AAPI women, in our City continue to face,” Bragg said in a statement.

Zajonc is now charged with six felony counts of assault in the third degree as a hate crime and seven counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree.

Bragg said Zajonc “selectively ambushed seven Asian women in separate assaults, some of which he struck from behind, for no other reason than their perceived race.” 

Authorities said the first attack happened after 6 p.m. in the Midtown area when the suspect approached a woman, 57, and punched her in the face before he ran off.