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Elmhurst man charged with hate crimes following anti-Asian assault on Steinway Street in Astoria: NYPD

Astoria
Elmhurst resident Rudy Coslopez turned himself in at the 114th Precinct in Astoria for an anti-Asian assault on Steinway Street in July. (NYPD)

An Elmhurst man was arrested and charged with hate crimes Tuesday, Sept. 6, nearly two months after he allegedly shouted anti-Asian statements before assaulting a man on Steinway Street in Astoria, according to authorities.

Rudy Coslopez, 41, of 74th Street, turned himself into the 114th Precinct in Astoria, according to an NYPD spokeswoman, and he was charged with assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment as a hate crime and assault for an incident that occurred on the night of Tuesday, July 12.

Authorities say that the alleged bigot approached the 22-year-old Asian man just before 9 p.m. outside of 34-27 Steinway St. and without provocation, he began making anti-Asian statements to the victim, before head-butting the man and fleeing the scene in an unknown direction. The victim suffered a chipped tooth, but did not require any medical attention at the crime scene, police said.

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force was called on to investigate the incident.

Coslopez is awaiting his arraignment at Queens Criminal Court.