Police say a man reported a hate crime outside this Applebee’s. (Image via Google Maps)
A South Asian man was beaten outside an Applebee’s Monday night in what he told police was a revenge attack after the Boston Marathon bombings.
Abdullah Faruque, 30, told police that he was enjoying dinner and drinks at an Applebee’s in the Bronx around 10:30 p.m. Monday.
He said after he finished his dinner, he went outside to smoke a cigarette and heard a group of men talking about the Boston bombing, which had happened just hours earlier.
He said one man pointed at him and said, “You an Arab?” And another then said, “He’s a f—ing Arab,” according to the account he gave police.
Faruque said he was about to go back into the restaurant when a man attacked him and punched him in the face and body.
Police described that suspect as male, Hispanic and about 20 to 25 years old.
An Applebee’s manager intervened, cops said, and the suspects fled.
City comptroller John Liu released a statement criticizing the incident.
“New Yorkers will not tolerate hate crimes like the beating of a Bangladeshi man in The Bronx,” he said. “This incident must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest.”
Follow Alison Bowen on Twitter @reporteralison
