NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A 15-year-old girl wearing a hijab was pepper-sprayed on a Brooklyn street in an attack that's being investigated as a hate crime, police and sources said Wednesday.
Images released by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force show the woman investigators are searching for in the Dec. 19 assault in Bensonhurst.
The girl was walking at 80th Street and New Utrecht Avenue around 1:50 p.m. when the woman came up to her and launched the unprovoked attack, cops said.
The assailant made "anti-ethnic remarks" as she pepper-sprayed the victim in the face, according to police.
The victim was wearing a hijab head covering at the time of the attack, according to sources, who were unable to confirm she is Muslim.
EMS responded to the scene to treat the victim, who didn't require further medical attention.
The attacker, believed to be in her 40s, quickly fled and remained at large as of Wednesday.
The attack comes amid a rise in anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate crimes as the Israel-Hamas war rages on for a third month. According to the NYPD's latest crime statistics, overall hate crimes in the city were up 33% this November compared to November 2022.
In a similar incident in late October, a man tried to remove a 16-year-old Muslim girl's hijab on a 5 train near the Union Square subway station, according to police and reports.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.