NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who was captured on video throwing a bottle at a Black runner in New York City and yelling a racial slur at her has been charged with attempted assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment, authorities said Tuesday.
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Lorena Delaguna, 53, was arraigned in Queens criminal court on charges stemming from the Aug. 17 confrontation with Tiffany Johnson.
“In addition to allegedly yelling the N-word, the defendant in this case is also accused of throwing a bottle in an attempt to strike the victim,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a written statement.
“Crimes like this, which are fueled by hate, are in a special category for a reason,” the statement read. “No one should have to endure being called a vile slur or being attacked simply because of the color of their skin, their religion, or who they love.”
A message seeking comment was left with a Legal Aid attorney representing Delaguna.
Katz did not name the victim, but Johnson, 37, has identified herself as the person being accosted in a video that was recorded by a bystander and released by the Police Department last week.
“It’s a hate crime,” Johnson told the New York Post. “It’s not acceptable.”
Katz said that in addition to using the racial slur, Delaguna, of Woodside, Queens, followed the runner for a block and told her to “go back to Africa.”
these “man bites dog” stories are to come by, good work AP! did they also run a story of a black that walked into the Bungalow Joe’s Bar in louisville and shot 3 whites to death?
Stam crazy unstable white trash. No big news here.
Viewpoint counts.
When I saw the video I saw a woman startled as out of noplace a jogger appeared, moving at speed and nearly hit this woman rounding the corner. This can startle anybody and cause them to curse. I was previously employed in a Black enterprise and do not use certain words but I would have responded in some way. nearly getting killed by a selfish idiot makes people respond.