A man has died after being knocked to the ground with a single punch by a stranger in a New York City square.
Jeffrey Babbitt, 62, had been left brain damaged after being punched in Union Square last week in an apparent racist attack.
Mr Babbitt died after allegedly being hit by Lashawn Marten, a 31-year-old African American, who reportedly said that he wanted to attack the next white person who walked by.
The 62-year-old, the sole carer of his 92-year-old mother Hedda, was hit so hard that he fell to the ground but later managed to stand. His condition deteriorated soon afterwards and he died at Bellevue Hospital.
Marten, who has a previous criminal record and uses various aliases, was charged with assault and is due in a Manhattan court on Tuesday. It is likely his charges will now be upgraded.
According to one female witness last week, Marten said: ‘The next white person who walks by I’m going to f***’.
She added: ‘His fist went in and the man’s head bobbed and he hit the ground and you could hear his skull hitting the ground.’
After his racist rant and attack, witnesses said Marten stayed at the park and waited for police to arrive.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Marten’s alleged comments about targeting white people before allegedly punching Mr Babbitt could lead to hate crime charges being made against him.
‘Our Hate Crimes Task Force is involved in aspects of that case,’ he added.
Marten is being held on a $1 million bond as police decide whether to also charge him with a hate crime.
