AUTHORITIES have apprehended the suspects in separate attacks against two Filipinos in New York City recently, according to Consul General Elmer Cato.
Cato identified the suspects as Rasheed Osundairo, 30, and Dominic Staton, 44.
“The Philippine Consulate General in New York welcomes the apprehension of the suspect behind Monday’s brutal assault on a 53-year-old member of the Filipino community in Manhattan. We express our appreciation to the officers of the New York City Police Department who arrested the suspect Rasheed Osundairo, as well as those who arrested Dominic Staton, the suspect in the attack on a 73-year-old kababayan also in Manhattan Sunday,” Cato said.
Osundairo, a homeless man, was arrested by an off-duty police officer who spotted him in the subway. Recovered from Osundairo were some of the items owned by the Filipino victim, who remained in critical condition at the hospital due to the injuries he sustained in the attack.
Staton, the suspect in the March 27 attack on the 73-year-old Filipino, has been arrested several times over various offenses, ranging from arson to robbery.
Cato reiterated his call for authorities to exert more efforts to make the streets of New York safe again by addressing issues related to homelessness and mental health.
“Let us also pray for the speedy recovery of our kababayan, who according to reports, remain in critical but stable condition,” he added.
The attack on the two Filipinos brought to seven the number of hate incidents or violence involving members of the Filipino community in New York since the start of the year.
Since last year, the Consulate has recorded 34 crimes and violence against Filipinos in the city, including the attack on 58-year-old Maria Luningning Ambrocio.
Ambrocio, a health care worker, was walking with another Filipina near Times Square after visiting the consulate when she was struck on the head by a mentally deranged person. She later succumbed to her injuries.
