'Go back to where you came from': Moment woman pepper sprays four Asian women in Manhattan's trendy Meatpacking District
By Ronny Reyes For Dailymail.Com20:33 BST 14 Jun 2022 , updated 23:34 BST 14 Jun 2022- A woman was arguing with four Asian people on Saturday in Manhattan when she suddenly pulled out pepper spray and went on a racist rant
- A second video from a bystander shows the women walking away, but the woman, dubbed "Karen" online, chases after them
- She then pepper sprays one of them in the face
- It is the latest act of anti-Asian violence in New York City after hate-crimes against Asians shot up 343 percent last year
- Hate crimes are up more than 30 percent from 2021, and overall violent crime in the city is up nearly 40 percent
- Do you know this woman? Email MailOnline at james [email protected]
A woman pepper sprayed four Asian women during an argument as police look into the latest example of anti-Asian violence in the New York City.
Shocking video recorded by the victims shows the moment the woman, dubbed "Karen" by social media users, starts arguing with the four Queens women, all in their 20s, in Manhattan's Meatpacking District on Saturday.
The victims, who wished to remain anonymous, told ABC 7 that they were checking out a flower installation when the woman suddenly picked a fight with them, and after accusing them of harassing her, the Karen pepper sprayed the four.
'It was so painful, one victim said. 'I couldn't open my eyes for about 30 minutes.'
A bystander then filmed the victims walking away from the argument, but the Karen continues to yell at them and walks up behind one of the women and blasts her directly in the eyes with the pepper spray before leaving the area.
Police said the incident was currently under investigation and was being treated as a hate crime.
According to the victims, the unidentified Karen had allegedly gone on a racist tirade as she pulled out the pepper spray on the Asian women.
'Saying like, 'Go back to where you came from, you don't belong here,'' one victim told ABC 7. 'She pointed to an Asian bystander who was a man, we didn't know who he was, pointed at him and said take your ***** back to your country.'
The victims claimed that after the assault, one of them got a message from someone else who had allegedly ran into the same women earlier in the day, saying the Karen had pepper sprayed three others, including a 13-year-old girl.
