Man claims he was victim of hate crime

<p>A Bronx man says he is worried about his safety after he claims he was the victim of a hate crime at a pizzeria last week.</p>

News 12 Staff

Oct 18, 2018, 2:27 AM

Updated 2,023 days ago

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A Bronx man says he is worried about his safety after he claims he was the victim of a hate crime at a pizzeria last week.
Chris, who asked for his last name to not be used, says he had a bloodshot eye, double vision, a torn retina and a fractured eye socket following the incident.
He says he was attacked by a man while he was having lunch at Ray Pizza on Oct. 6. Chris says it all started when a man walked into the pizzeria and started making racially charged comments at him.
"'Look at that white man,'" Chris says the man yelled at him. "'They're devils, they're the devils. I wish they would die.' And that went on for a good 10 minutes."
Chris says the man then got his food and sat down at a table.
"He was staring at me and he said 'you are not a white man, you are a white boy,'” Chris says the man told him. "After that comment, I moved to another table in the back."
Chris says he told a worker that the man was making offensive comments. When he got up to leave, Chris says the suspect got up as well.
"He approached the door, he put his elbow up and I walked around his elbow and he backslapped me with his arm," says Chris. "At that point, I just reacted and threw a cup of coffee at him and, within a second, he gave me this quick punch to my face."
Chris claims his face immediately starting bleeding. He says he went to the back to ask workers to call police while the suspect stood there for a few minutes, continuing with his tirade.
Police say the Hate Crime Task Force is investigating this as a possible bias incident. So far, no arrests have been made.


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