Teen Turns Herself in for Attack on Asian Subway Riders

A 16-year-old girl turned herself in on Tuesday after a video went viral showing her verbally and physically harassing an Asian family on a Manhattan subway last week.

As CrimeOnline reported, the 16-year-old and her friends began pointing and laughing at Sue Young and her family, but that quickly escalated to ethnic slurs. Then, when the teen saw that another woman, Joanna Lin, was filming the encounter, she attacked the videographer. Young, who was visiting New York from Nevada with her husband and daughters, jumped in to defend Lin and was also attacked.

New York police were investigating the attack as a hate crime, but the girl was charged with two counts of assault and no hate crimes, the New York Post reported. Both Lin and Young said they don’t believe the girl attacked them because they’re Asian.

Other passengers intervened, getting between the trio of girls and their victims, who got off the train at the next stop.

Lin told The Post she was glad the teen took responsibility.

“I am relieved that she made the decision to turn herself in. In a perfect world, I would love if she can issue an apology to myself and Sue Young, and promise to never ever do this again,” Lin said. “I also hope she gets therapy, counseling, and mentorship needed to move up from here.”

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[Featured image: Joanna Lin via WCBS]