A 29-year-old Asian man was struck by a hammer at a Manhattan subway station, according to reports.

The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told news outlets he was on his way home with a friend when the suspect violently crossed paths with him.

"He got into my face," the victim said. "He said to me some words like 'can't you see I'm walking here?'"

According to a video of the incident that was released, the suspect said “Why you hit me? Why the [expletive] you hit me?” and took the hammer out of his bag and assaulted the victim with it. He was hospitalized in stable condition with non-fatal injuries.

According to NBC News, the incident is now being investigated as a potential hate crime. The victim spoke with The New York Post Wednesday regarding the rise of crime in the city.

“We’re trying to live our lives as well as we can, you know, and it’s just unfortunate that we have to face all these adversities, along with just all the struggles in life,” he said. “It’s just unnecessary conflict and it sucks.”

The New York Police Department announced that subway crime is up about 70% in the last year, ABC7 New York reports. In February, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams disclosed plans to address safety issues on the city's transit system.

“People tell me about their fear of using the system and we are going to ensure that fear is not New York’s reality," Adams said.

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