New York police arrest man in attack on Asian woman in hate crime case

NEW YORK - New York City police said on Wednesday they arrested a convicted murderer on charges of attacking a 65-year-old Asian woman on a street, an assault captured on a video that went viral amid a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States.

Brandon Elliot, 38, was identified as the man seen in the video kicking the woman to the ground and then kicking her several more times on Monday near Times Square in midtown Manhattan, the New York Police Department said in a statement. Elliot, who was on lifetime parole after serving a prison term for murdering his mother, faces several assault and hate-crime charges, police said. The NYPD said its Hate Crimes Force had been looking for the assailant since Monday afternoon. Police have said the assailant was heard making anti-Asian statements during the assault.