The NYPD has released sketches and video of three suspects wanted in connection with a September 12 bias-related assault on Manhattan’s East Side.
According to police, shortly after 1 a.m. on that early Saturday morning, a 27-year-old woman who was eating with her 46-year-old mother at BarKogi restaurant at 957 Second Avenue near 51st Street was attacked by a man and two women who shouted obscenities and anti-gay slurs at the victim, threw her to the ground, and dragged her across the floor by her legs.
The victim, who police did not identify, suffered minor injuries to her knees and was treated at an NYU hospital and then released.
Victim says she and her mother mistaken for lesbian couple
WCBS-TV identified the woman as Tiffany Santiago, who said she and her mother had been mistaken for a lesbian couple by her attackers. Santiago told the news station that she received six stitches in the hospital, but nearly a week later was still walking only with the aid of a cane.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating. Under state law, hate crime charges can be filed when victims are targeted due to their actual or perceived identity as one of a number of protected categories.
Police identified the male suspect as white, in his mid-40s, 5’8” tall, weighing 180 pounds, and balding with a beard. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans at the time of the assault.
One of the female suspects is white, in her mid-30s, 5’7” tall, about 130 pounds, with dirty blonde hair. She was wearing a light colored shirt, black pants, and light colored high heel boots.
The second female suspect is also white and in her mid-30s, 5’7” tall, weighing about 120 pounds, with long wavy black hair. She was wearing a white tank top, black pants, and black high heel boots.
The video was taken outside the restaurant.
Anyone with informing regarding the assault or the suspects can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
