Chinatown Mourns Christina Lee After Deadly Stabbing And Demands Action: 'We Deserve To Be Safe'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As a community filled with grief and anger gathered for another rally, the calls for change are growing louder in Chinatown.
Neighbors say the area isn't safe anymore, following the brutal fatal stabbing of a Chinese-American woman inside her own apartment.
It turns out the suspect has 30 prior arrests and prosecutors say the alleged crime was sexually motivated, CBS2's John Dias reported Tuesday.
Many at a rally Tuesday said if there's no change in the city, there will be another victim.
READ MORE: Mayor Adams Says Chinatown Stabbing Another Reason For State To Review Bail Reform
As the makeshift memorial grows outside 35-year-old Christina Lee's apartment on Chrystie Street, there are also more calls for justice.
"It's not safe anymore," one resident said.
"Not safe at all," another said.
"We deserve to be safe -- not feel, but be safe -- in our city, in our homes," Chinatown resident Susan Lee said.
And the demands for more secure streets in the area are coming from more than the Asian community.
"She didn't deserve that," said Antonio Brooks of The Bowery.
"We need to come together and support each other a little more," added Ray Miranda of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Lee was fatally stabbed Sunday morning at home. Police say 25-year-old Assamad Nash followed her and pushed his way into her apartment, and then grabbed a kitchen knife.
Neighbors heard Lee screaming for help and called 911.
According to the criminal complaint, Nash imitated a woman's voice and called out to responding officers they did not need police.
About an hour later, officers knocked down the door. Prosecutors say they found Lee's body in the bathroom, with 40 stab wounds, and allege Nash was hiding under the mattress, a knife tucked behind the dresser.
On Monday, he denied any wrongdoing.
"I didn't kill nobody," he said as he was taken to court.
READ MORE: NYPD Investigating Killing Of Woman In Chinatown Building
The scene was still blocked off on Tuesday and her apartment remained on complete lockdown.
"My understanding is that they want to do as thorough a job," building owner Brian Chin said. "They can keep this building locked down as long as it takes to give this girl the justice she deserves."
Chin says the Asian community has been screaming about safety issues in Chinatown for years.
"We have been unheard and this is the consequences of their inaction," Chin said.
Authorities say Nash is homeless. At another rally Tuesday, residents and AAPI activists demanded city leaders overhaul how New York handles homelessness and mental illness.
"We want to live in a safe community where we don't have to worry when we go out of the apartment. Where we don't have to worry when we go into the subway that we're going to be subject to an attack," one person said.
"We've got a broken set of systems, and we've seen through this pandemic how mental illness and homelessness have been growing without adequate response," said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
The superintendent says the Department of Buildings inspected both the front door and Lee's apartment door and all the systems functioned as they should have, adding Nash was somehow just able to sneak in behind her.