leshawn marten

The homeless man who was arrested in Union Square last month after allegedly attacking three people in broad daylight, fatally striking one, has now had his charged upgrades to hate crimes.

The suspect said there was no racial component to the incident: "I’ve punched white people. I’ve punched brown people. I’ve punched Hispanic people...So what? I don’t target anyone."

Suspect Lashawn Martin, 40, has a history of mental illness—as well as a complicated relationship with race.

Doctors have told police that 62-year-old victim Jeffery Babbitt, who did not know his attacker beforehand, is clinically brain dead.

The man who was attacked in broad daylight in Union Square this past week is allegedly brain dead.