In yet another example of “Karen’s gone racist” a woman in New York lost her mind when she believed a Black teen had stolen her cell phone.
The incident, which has been widely shared on social media, happened inside the lobby of a swanky hotel in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday.
The teen’s father, a Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter, Keyon Harrold, filmed the scene, where his 14-year-old son was accosted and accused of a theft he did not commit.
Thursday New York City Detectives released video of the incident showing the woman attacking the teen. Now the woman is wanted by the New York police department.
Wednesday, an outraged crowd gathered at City Hall Park to support Grammy Award-winning musician Keyon Harrold, his wife and their son who was attacked.
“The racial profiling that Keyon Harrold documented on that cellphone video, if not held accountable, leads to the racial profiling of Andre Hill being killed. It leads to the racial profiling of Ahmaud Arbery for jogging while Black,” attorney Benjamin Crump said at the rally.
“Are you kidding me? You feel like there’s only one iPhone made in the world?” Harrold is heard saying in the video.
The Arlo hotel is in hot water for its handling and has apologized for the way in which the manager handled the situation.
Harrold and his son stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, when an unknown woman confronted them, demanding to see the teen’s phone.
The teen told the women the phone was his, and attempted to walk away with his father.
The woman followed, and then, according to Harrold, attacked and scratched the teen.
The woman was allegedly a guest at the hotel, who’d checked out three days prior.
According to the Washington Post, minutes after the incident, the woman’s phone was returned to her by an Uber driver.
Wednesday, the woman spoke with CNN. She says she asked someone other than the teen to "empty their pocket," before ultimately confronting Keyon Harrold Jr. "That's when everything got a little bit more serious," the still unidentified woman said.
CNN says when they asked the woman to provide evidence of her claims that SHE was the victim as assault, she ended communication with them. CNN is withholding the woman's identify as she has safety concerns unrelated to this incident.
"The investigation is still preliminary, a lot of work still needs to be done," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "The complainants are cooperating and I'm confident that the investigators from the first precinct will make an arrest on this case sooner than later."
The woman never apologized for the “traumatic situation,” Harrold wrote on Instagram, while also criticizing the manager for encouraging the woman and even appearing to side with her.
“He actually empowered her!!!” Harrold wrote on Instagram. “He didn’t even consider the fact we were actually the guests!”
Sunday, the Arlo posted an official apology to the family.
“No Arlo guest — or any person — should be subject to this kind of behavior,” the hotel said in a statement. “We are committed to making sure this never happens again at any of our hotels.”
Harrold said on social media he will forever have to live with the impact this incident will have on his son.
“Now think about the trauma that my son now has to carry, only coming downstairs to have box day brunch with his dad,” he wrote. “...
This s--- happens so often. It needs to stop!”