Two teenage girls were charged with hate crimes Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a 57-year-old white woman while making “anti-white” statements on an MTA bus in Queens.
Two of the three female suspects were reportedly arrested and are facing assault and aggravated harassment charges. The July 9 attack left one victim requiring three staples in her head, CNN reported. The third suspected perpetrator of the racially-motivated attack remains at large, according to a tweet from the New York Police Department (NYPD) Hate Crimes Task Force.
**ARREST- Assault**
Thanks to a tip, Detectives followed up and arrested 2 juveniles regarding this anti-white assault that occurred on the Q53 bus on July 9th. There is 1 outstanding perpetrator.https://t.co/2N0BSbf5iG pic.twitter.com/a44snB0aVN— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) July 26, 2022
The victim, Jill LeCroix, was traveling southbound on the MTA bus when she was approached by three teenage girls, one of whom yelled, “I hate White people. I hate the way they talk,” CNN reported. The girls then attacked the grandmother of five while continuing to make anti-white statements, according to the New York Post.
LeCroix noted the three suspects accused her of being a supporter of former President Donald Trump, according to another NY Post report. “Before they hit me, the girl with the green hair said, ‘You probably like Trump! Don’t you?’” LeCroix told the outlet. “I said, ‘I love him.’ I didn’t see which one hit me first.” (RELATED: Police Indict Man Who Allegedly Assaulted Seven Asian Women In Three-Hour Period)
Apparently she was the only white person on the bus at the time, LeCroix continued, according to the NY Post. “By the time we started passing St. John’s Cemetery on Woodhaven, she started in on me, saying, ‘That’s where I’m going to bury you!’” LeCroix continued.
Hate crimes in NYC have risen by 76% since April compared to the same time in 2021, according to CNN. The Jewish community in the city has experienced 149 reported hate crimes, Asians have experienced 51, and black people have reported 35 hate crimes in the same time period, the outlet continued.