- Yao Pan Ma, 61, was attacked in
New York City on Friday. - Video shows the attacker stomping on Ma's head repeatedly as he lay on the street.
- As of Monday, Ma was in critical but stable condition. The police are looking for the attacker.
A 61-year-old Asian man was in critical condition after a brutal attack in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, according to local reports.
Video released by the New York City Police Department shows a man identified as Yao Pan Ma being repeatedly kicked in the head while on the ground. The police say the attacker struck Ma from behind and knocked him to the ground.
-NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) April 24, 2021
Ma was walking with a shopping cart full of cans and bottles when the attack occurred, CBS New York and the New York Daily News reported.
The attack took place at about 8:20 p.m. on Friday, according to the NYPD.
Surveillance video shows the attacker stomping on Ma's head repeatedly before running away, as Ma lay on the street.
-Ron T. Kim (@rontkim) April 27, 2021
The NYPD later released clearer images of a suspect, who was wearing a red-and-black baseball cap, a dark jacket, dark pants, and white sneakers.
They said the suspect was male.
-NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) April 26, 2021
As of Sunday, Ma was placed in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator, CBS New York and the New York Daily
As of Monday, he was in critical but stable condition, The New York Times reported.
Ma's wife, Baozhen Chen, told CBS New York that the couple moved from China in 2018. She said Ma worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Chinatown before losing his job in the coronavirus pandemic.
He started collecting recyclable items on the street in September to support his family, Chen told the New York Daily News.
"He is a kind person. He is not the type to cause trouble," Chen told the Daily News.
"I feel very unsafe and I am very worried that my husband is not going to make it," she added.
As of Tuesday morning, the police were still searching for the attacker.
Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City called the attack "outrageous" in a Saturday tweet, adding: "Make no mistake, we will find the perpetrator and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
As of Tuesday morning a fundraiser for Ma's family has raised more than $345,000. The campaign was created Monday.
The attack comes amid a wave of attacks on Asians in the US. Last month, a 65-year-old Filipina American woman was insulted and attacked in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in New York City.
The police said the attacker told the woman. "F--- you. You don't belong here," according to the New York Daily News.