NYPD: Man Asked Bodega Clerk If He Was Arabic, Then Punched Him

An Arabic bodega clerk was punched in the face last week, and the police are looking for his attacker. The assault appears to be a hate crime.

According to the NYPD, the incident took place around 9:49 a.m. on August 9, when the suspect entered the Green Olive at 161 East 116th Street in Manhattan. The suspect asked the clerk if he was Arabic, and the clerk replied that he was—and then the suspect punched him in the face, police say.

Surveillance footage of the suspect was released. He was described as being bald with a beard and a medium build and was last seen wearing a light colored t-shirt, light colored pants, black and white sneakers, and a backpack.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.