A 27-year-old Flatbush man has been indicted on charges of assault as a hate crime, and other offenses, after he allegedly punched a woman in the face and knocked her unconscious while shouting homophobic slurs on a Brooklyn-bound Q train in May, announced Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Monday, July 3.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on May 21, the defendant, Antoine Thomas, is alleged to have boarded a Brooklyn-bound Q train at Union Square, at which time, according to reports, he sat next to the victim and her girlfriend. The defendant is then said to have started shouting anti-gay slurs at the victim and her partner, later aggressively bumping into the victim when the train made a sudden stop. He is further alleged to have punched the woman in the face as the train arrived at the DeKalb Avenue station.
According to Gonzalez, Thomas attempted to leave the train by walking between cars, but was arrested at the next station after the conductor called police.
“Brooklyn is a model of inclusion and diversity where bias and bigotry will not be tolerated,” said Gonzalez. “This defendant’s alleged actions were an attack on everyone’s right to be who they are, and to love whom they choose. He will now be held accountable for this alleged attack that left a woman unconscious.”
The victim was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital where she was treated for a concussion, nasal fracture, a contusion and eye lacerations requiring eight stitches.
The case is being investigated by the New York City Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force.
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