Suspect in attacks on Asian women in New York found dead
NEW YORK -- A man who police say was responsible for a string of attacks on Asian women in New York City was found dead Monday, reports CBS New York.
Tyrelle Shaw's body was found in an elevator shaft. A suicide note was also recovered, according to police.
Shaw was sought after four women were struck in the face with a bag containing a hard object.
The attacks started June 10 when a 35-year-old woman was assaulted on a street after she ignored a man later identified as Shaw. Later that same day, a 29-year-old woman was accosted as she walked down Park Avenue.
Two days after that, a 34-year-old woman was struck in the forehead as she walked on a street. The fourth assault occurred June 15.
Police say a blog that includes posts about hurting Asian women belonged to Shaw.
"I will hit over a million Asian Women in the face with a stick will change history," the blog's author wrote in one post, in which he says Asian women rejected his advances.
In another post, the blog's author said he hadn't planned on the June 15 attack.
"That was actually my day off from playing the Nose Game. Yeah, thats what I'll call it 'The Nose Game.' She asked for it," he wrote.
In that same post, he also detailed his plan to commit suicide.
"Actually, I've already tied a noose to the bottom of an elevator and I'm going to wait until someone pushes a button," he wrote.
In the past week, police pinpointed a block on the city's Upper East Side as an area that Shaw frequented. They were called to the building at 766 Madison Ave. at least six times in the past year on reports that someone who matched Shaw's description was squatting in the building, CBS New York reports.
Late Monday afternoon police found Shaw dead in the building's elevator shaft.
Karen Bennett, who works on the fifth floor of the building, told CBS New York that she and her employees had several run-ins with a man who may have been Shaw, including a break-in caught on a surveillance camera.