Hate crime charge in NYC subway death

A 31-year-old Bronx woman has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime in the death of a man shoved in front of a subway train, Queens prosecutors said Saturday.

District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the woman as Erika Menendez. She was awaiting arraignment.

“(She) said in sum and substance ‘I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up,’” the prosecutor said in a statement.

The victim, Sunando Sen, grew up in a Hindu family, his roommate said.

Witnesses said a woman paced the platform and talked to herself Thursday evening shortly before pushing the man as the 11-car train entered the station. The 46-year-old man’s body was pinned under the second car after it came to a stop.

So it turns out that this particular bigot happens to be Latino. That’s noteworthy, but I don’t think it says much other than that bigotry is the monopoly of any one group of people.