NYPD makes 2 arrests in alleged anti-Asian hate crime in Queens
NEW YORK -- Two people have been arrested for a hate crime assault in Queens.
They allegedly yelled slurs at an Asian-American woman and her son before attacking them.
CBS2 spoke with one of the victims on Monday.
"They started screaming 'Ugly, ugly Asians.' They kept screaming to us, saying, 'Ugly Asian (expletive)," Cecille Martinez Lai said.
The NYPD released images of the three suspects they say yelled anti-Asian slurs and committing assault on Thursday at the busy intersection of Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue. On Monday night, police announced the arrests of 18-year-old Natalie Plaza of Queens and 21-year-old Elijah Fernandez of Queens.
"I love New York, but if the street is always dangerous for us, it's not good," Lai said.
The native of the Philippines said it happened as she and her son got out of a car to enter the 7 train station. The driver in a white SUV started honking at them to hurry up and then people inside shouted anti-Asian slurs.
Her son gave them the middle finger. Lai says that's when two men and a woman exited the vehicle.
"She punched me and I was knocked out unconscious, so ... the moment I woke up I saw one of the guys punching my son," Lai said.
She said the ugly words hurt worse in some ways than the physical assault.
A video shows the SUV narrowly miss a bystander as it sped from the scene.
The arrests come as the city has seen a decrease in reported anti-Asian hate crimes. Three were reported in the first two months of this year, versus 14 during the same period a year ago.