Especially the part that this occurred in the
Upper West Side of NYC ...
There are black people in the Upper West Side (statistically 7.6% is black). It is wrong to blame someone based on their race, especially when there is not evidence to that assertion.
I noticed the names (Joselin Santos, 16, and Annie Figueros, 33) of the two women arrested, and I thought they were Hispanic surnames. No photos of them were available. I was uncomfortable that they ended up with no criminal records, and their cases are sealed in that I doubt all racially motivated attacks in NYC are treated with equal gravity.
“There are black people in the Upper West Side (statistically 7.6% is black). It is wrong to blame someone based on their race, especially when there is not evidence to that assertion.”
Technically, I agree - but given the track record, it was a reasonable assumption. Even Jesse Jackson used to agree with that (at least when he spoke to black audiences).