MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

NY 'Karen' hurls glass bottle and N-word at Black jogger, victim seeks hate crime charges: 'Go back to Africa'

'She could see the color of my skin and she reacted to that,' Tiffany Johnson said about the woman who is yet to be identified

A jogger in New York City, who was attacked by a woman who threw a glass bottle at her and called her the N-word, is demanding justice and said that she was the victim of a hate crime. The jogger, identified as 37-year-old Tiffany Johnson, was running at 53rd Place and Broadway in Woodside, Queens on August 17 at noon when she passed a corner where a woman threw a glass bottle at her feet. Authorities are on a hunt to find the attacker. The woman, who was dubbed a "Karen" by social media, shouted at Johnson, saying: "Get out of here n*****, go back to Africa," according to a video, which was released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) on Wednesday, September 16. The woman has not yet been identified.

Johnson, while commenting on the incident, said: "It’s a hate crime. It’s not acceptable. She has to be [held] responsible for her behavior," the New York Post reported. She told the outlet that she had initially thought that the woman had mistaken her for somebody else and did not initially think that it was a racially motivated attack. However, when the woman started screaming racist insults at her unprovoked, she soon realized that it was because she was Black. 

"She could see the color of my skin and she reacted to that," Johnson said. "I was definitely shocked. I was surprised but more importantly I wanted to get away from her." Johnson, in the video released by the authorities, can be seen turning back confused and asking: "What's your problem? when the woman screams at her and then resumes her run.

Johnson told the outlet: "I’m entitled to go for a job, live my life, enjoy my life and enjoy the things that makes me happy." She added that she decided to be the bigger person during the confrontation and left the scene rather than arguing with the attacker. "That’s not on me. That’s a reflection on her. She needs to look at herself and figure out why she looks down on somebody. We are always trying to give reasons for what people do but I can’t get into her head. I only know what she did, what she said and her actions," Johnson said. The 37-year-old said that she was happy that police were on a hunt for the attacker, who has been described as light-skinned, 5'5", has blue eyes, long blonde hair, and is believed to be in her 40s. She also reportedly appears to have a foreign accent. She was wearing a black tank top, white shorts, and dark sunglasses at the time of the incident. Johnson, while speaking to ABC 7, said that although she has not gone back to the neighborhood ever since the incident, she has received a lot of support from groups like Black Girls Run. 
 
"I’m glad the video surfaced so, hopefully, she won’t do this to someone else. People shouldn’t have to deal with that type of behavior," Johnson said. "I refused to and that’s why I walked away – nope, nope!" she added.