NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The man accused of stabbing an Asian man in an unprovoked attack in Manhattan's Chinatown on Thursday will reportedly not face hate crime charges.
Salman Muflihi, a 23-year-old Brooklyn man, was arrested in the attack on a 36-year-old man near Worth and Baxter streets Thursday evening.
Although police initially indicated that Muflihi would face hate crime charges, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the case as a hate crime, according to a criminal complaint, WABC reported.
Muflihi was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, according to the report.
Muflihi was arrested last month for allegedly punching an Asian man in the head in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, according to the Daily News, and that's what had led police to upgrade the charges to hate crimes on Friday.
The victim in the Chinatown attack remained hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital in critical condition Saturday after undergoing surgery. He reportedly lost a kidney and adrenal gland and suffered liver damage after being stabbed in the back with a knife near the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse.
Muflihi pleaded not guilty in New York Criminal Court on Saturday, according to ABC News.
Muflihi was arrested shortly after the attack, allegedly after telling a security guard at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office building that he had "just stabbed someone."
Muflihi told police that "he didn't like the way the victim was looking at him," according to the NYPD.
The attack was the latest on an Asian person in the city, which has seen a dramatic rise in hate crimes over the past year. A rally was held in lower Manhattan on Saturday to denounce anti-Asian violence. The demonstration took place steps away from the location of Thursday's attack.
