Fox News Flash top headlines for February 18
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The NYPD on Thursday arrested a man who was allegedly caught on camera attacking an Asian American woman in the borough of Queens.
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Patrick Mateo, 47, is facing charges of assault and harassment after a video clip that went viral on social media allegedly shows the suspect pushing the 52-year-old victim outside of a store in Flushing on Tuesday, the NYPD confirmed to Fox News.
Police said they received "a lot of good information" and tips from the community in a push to catch the assailant.
The NYPD told Fox News the woman was waiting in line outside of a bakery when the unidentified male "engaged her in a verbal dispute," before pushing her to the ground. The woman hit her head on the concrete and was transported to the hospital in stable condition. She required 10 stitches on her forehead.
Meanwhile, the suspect fled the scene, but pedestrians and witnesses who saw the attack posted videos and photos of the suspect on the internet in an effort to find him.
The victim's daughter, Maggie Kayla Cheng, did not respond to Fox News' request for comment but expressed her outrage at the act of violence in a social media post.
"Hate crime has no place in our community. How you go up against a 5'3 110-115 lbs lady?" she wrote on Instagram.
The incident is the latest in a string of hate crimes against the Asian community. They have skyrocketed by 1,900% in the last year in the New York state, according to NYPD data. Some believe the violent instances could be exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the first half of 2020, the NYPD reported 20 instances of crimes against Asian Americans, compared to one during the entirety of 2019.
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Meanwhile, in parts of California's Bay Area including San Francisco and Oakland, there have been numerous attacks in recent weeks against elderly Asian Americans.
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