NYPD seeks racist who threw red pepper in Black 5-month-old's face in pizzeria
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: A racist woman confronted a Black mother with her two kids at a Brooklyn pizzeria, telling her to “go back to your country” and dousing her infant child in red pepper, according to police.
The disturbing incident took place at Not Ray’s Pizza in Fort Greene around 5:20 pm on June 11, when the female suspect walked in and confronted the African-American mother, police said. The suspect — who was captured on video —swore at the 35-year-old woman before grabbing the pepper shaker and throwing its contents into the face of the mother's 5-month-old daughter. “Go back to your country. You don’t belong here,” the suspect allegedly yelled, before taking off. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crime Task Force, which is investigating the incident, has released screenshots of the video where the assailant was seen wearing pink pants and a dark jacket with white stitching.
On 6/11/21 at 5:21 PM inside a Pizza shop at 694 Fulton St., Bklyn, a 36-year-old female patron, was exiting the location when a female entered, grabbed a shaker of black pepper, shook pepper at the victim and made anti-Black/anti-immigrant statements. Know her? ☎️1-800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/mlaP0G9sql
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) June 16, 2021
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Suspect called 4-year-old N-word
The victim was not injured. The mother of the victim, who is a Black woman, a single mother, and a licensed realtor, told the New York Daily News on the condition of anonymity that the suspect’s vile rant targeted both her kids. “She said ‘F**k your baby, [expletive],’” the woman recounted. “To my 4-year-old, she called him a [expletive] and said ‘Get out of this country.’”
She said that her infant was in her arms as she was paying for the pizza when the suspect instantly exploded in a racist rage. “I said 'she must have Tourette’s,'” said the mother. “I walked away and she threw the red pepper in my baby’s face ... I was very shocked because it’s New York City.” At the time, she was accompanied by her 4-year-old son. “I didn’t even make eye contact with her,” recounted the mom. “When I was paying for the pizza, I heard someone talking outside the store. The woman ... came up behind me. I picked up the pepper and threw it back at her.”
'We're going to stand together'
The unidentified mother confirmed to NBC New York that none of the flakes got into her baby's eyes or nose, However, in the aftermath of the racist attack the mother was left having to explain the incident to her kids. "I spoke to my children and I let them know that we're humankind. We're going to stand together. We're going to continue to eat together and New York stand up," the mother said.
A witness present at the scene used the presence of mind to record part of the incident. The video showed the woman in a middle of a profanity-laced rant and police say she eventually left the scene. Police are still searching for the woman, who authorities say could be homeless. No arrests have been made. According to store employees, the assailant asked for money when she entered the pizzeria. The video is available here.
Anyone with any information about the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.