NYC man charged with hate crimes after allegedly attacking two Sikh men in Queens

A 20 year old New York City man has been charged with hate crimes after he attacked two Sikh men in the Richmond Hill area of Queens on Tuesday.

Hezekiah Coleman was taken into custody on scene on Tuesday, where officers responded to an assault report at 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard at about 7am.

When police arrived two elderly Sikh men were found with minor head and body injuries, reportedly after being attacked by two men who punched and beat them with wooden sticks.

Police believe the attackers then removed the victims’ religious headwear and robbed them of their money. The second assailant is still at large but Coleman was arrested and charged with two counts of robbery classified as a hate crime, one count of robbery, one count of assault classified as a hate crime, and one count of aggravated harassment.

The attack occurred just one week after an elderly Indian man was beaten in the same neighborhood.

The Sikh Coalition said in a statement this week, “Sikhs are no strangers to hate violence, but the recent string of repeated attacks in the same location is especially disheartening and reprehensible. We continue to stand with all the communities who continue to experience this kind of trauma.”