No arrests have been made yet in the brutal stomping of 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma last week as he continues to fight for his life at the Harlem Hospital in New York City, according to news reports.
Wife: 'I am Scared'
The wife of Ma, Baozhen Chen, said in an interview on Sunday that she fears her husband may not survive after the brutal beating. She is also "scared" that she may get attacked in the long run.
Ma was placed into a medically-induced coma and is reportedly in a stable condition. However, he remains at the Manhattan Harlem Hospital's intensive care unit.
The family continues to plead for justice but police have yet to make an arrest. The authorities also confirmed that the case is being investigated as a hate crime.
The couple's neighbors have also spoken up about the issue, that the attack was "very sad." Neighbor Jermaine Mack said he believes the coupe are "good people."
Dozens Rally at Attack Site
As a series of anti-Asian hate crimes have been going on across New York and other parts of the United States, protests continue in support of the victims.
On Sunday, dozens gathered in Manhattan to protest the latest attack on an Asian. Protesters stopped at the corner of 125th Street and Third Avenue, the site of Ma's attack.
Jason Wu, one of the protesters, said it was time to "stick together and fight violence at its root causes.
Local police have released images of the suspect who was last seen wearing an all-black combo, a baseball cap, and white sneakers.
Twitter Reacts to Photos of Ma's Cart on the Site
Footage from the scene showed Ma being shoved to the ground - from the back - and once the ground, the suspect stomped on his head six times.
Ma suffered a cerebral contusion from the assault. He also suffered facial fractures as seen in photos shown to the public by his wife. His face was swollen due to the bruises.
Photos and surveillance video of the crime scene where Ma's shopping cart full of cans and recyclable plastics were left after he was transported to the hospital have broken hearts on Twitter.
ABC7 New York reporter CeFaan Kim urged Americans to remember that Ma was "collecting cans for money when he was attacked."
In a response to CNN International's post about the crime on Twitter, user Phillip Tran said what happened to Ma was "not fair" and "not right." Another user replied, that the attack was "disgusting."
An assault that left a 61-year-old Asian man in critical but stable condition Friday night is being investigated by New York police as a possible hate crime. https://t.co/IsiZdnH5iE — CNN International (@cnni) April 25, 2021
In a separate CNN post on the social media site, Twitter user @smbith1 wrote that elderly Asian-Americans are "being targeted because they can't fight back."
Ma is a former restaurant employee who lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he has been collecting cans to help his wife with rent and bills.
