TRANSCRIPT:
INTRO – EMMA CILLEKENS, HOST:
A woman pushed to her death in front of an oncoming train. Another woman smeared in the face with human feces. And a man beaten with a hammer after accidentally bumping into someone.
With countless attacks happening left and right in New York City, many residents wonder when will the violence stop.
Michael Tamsuriyamit has more on what New Yorkers are doing to keep themselves safe from the danger.
MICHAEL TAMSURIYAMIT, REPORTER:
When 20-year-old Veronica Zheng swipes into the subway station every morning, she is constantly on high alert.
VERONICA ZHENG, MAIN TALENT:
Whenever I walk through the train station, I would always like stay very close to the wall. To be like pushed onto the tracks, especially if you were like at a safe distance, or maybe like not close to the edge, is something like scary to think about.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
This past month, felony assaults accounted for nearly 20% of all reported crimes in New York City. And with many of the victims being Asian American women, Zheng says the recent attacks hit too close to home.
ZHENG:
Every day you see news articles about someone getting stabbed or followed. You know, that could be me, that could be anyone that I know too. And it's to the point where you don't really recognize individual people anymore. They just become statistics, it just becomes another case.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
It is the fear of being randomly stabbed or pushed onto the subway tracks that persuaded Zheng to invest in personal protective equipment.
ZHENG:
Sometimes you can't like necessarily call 911 whenever you feel unsafe. Like what if your phone gets knocked out of your hand? What if you're out of battery? Or what if you can't like talk, you know? Pepper spray is so accessible, like it's attached to my keychain. You switch the lock and then you spray it and aim it at like a specific target.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
Many other New Yorkers have also considered gearing up in order to keep themselves safe when outside.
ANTONIO LADRON DE GUEVARA, VOX-POP TALENT:
I personally, have thought about buying like pepper spray or some type of like, I've seen this on Instagram, like people sell cheap kits with self defense.
REBECCA RAMSAMMY, VOX-POP TALENT:
One of my friends was attacked on the subway, and it was a very, like, brutal attack. So after seeing that, I would also probably invest in pepper spray.
ELIZABETH NIKOLAEVA, VOX-POP TALENT:
I have bought a personal alarm, as well as a pepper spray and a window breaker. I have something called a safety keychain, and it makes me feel a lot more safe.
LADRON DE GUEVARA:
Even like having your keys in your pockets, you can use it as some sort of weapon actually.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
Although Zheng started doing mixed martial arts as a hobby well before the surge in crimes, she says the lessons she learns in class are applicable to today’s crime-saturated landscape.
ZHENG:
I take specifically Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-Jitsu is really good rape defense. If someone ever tackles you, or tries to choke you from behind, there are various ways to get yourself out of it.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
Some, however, fear that the use of self-defense could lead to even greater issues.
SHIRVAN PERSAD, VOX-POP TALENT:
I think it's good for people who need to protect themselves, but at the same time, someone could always misinterpret that as another form of violence that could result in injury towards someone.
NIKOLAEVA:
Well I guess it's one of those situations where it's not something that you ever want to use, but it's something that's good to have. If God forbid I run into someone dangerous, I can kind of have more things to use to stop them.
TAMSURIYAMIT:
Despite all the recent attacks, Zheng hopes that New Yorkers will come together in the end, and help one another.
TAMSURIYAMIT, FROM INTERVIEW W/ ZHENG:
If you could just say a quick message to all those New Yorkers out there, what can we do moving forward, what would that message be?
ZHENG:
I’d say look out for each other and also take safety into your own hands. Every person that you encounter, every victim you see out there – they’re someone's loved one, they’re someone else's children, they're someone else's parents. Everybody needs to process that, and know how to move forward from there.