9/23/23 by Audrey Coleman
Teens engaged in derogatory harassment against an Asian man and woman last night on the MBTA’s Red Line.
The event involving five teenagers took place around 11 pm on an Ashmont-bound train, according to MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan. The teens harassed two Asian passengers, threatened to rob others, and smashed train windows before fleeing.
The woman was reported to be around 25 years old. They taunted her ethnicity and attempted to mimic her Asian accent, says the Boston Globe. The Boston Globe also reported that the man was estimated to have been between 55 and 60 years old, and heard derogatory comments based on his ethnicity from the teenagers.
After the incident, the man stayed on the train, while the woman departed at the JFK/UMass station in Dorchester and received a courtesy transport from an officer in interest of her safety in close proximity to the group of teenagers who had not been detained.
The juveniles have not been identified and their search and arrest will be left up to detectives, said Sullivan, but he plans to consult with officials to learn if the teenagers will be prosecuted under Massachusetts’ hate crime laws.
The Boston Globe quoted Sullivan, and he emphasized, “Transit Police are committed to safeguarding the constitutional rights of everyone regardless of age, race, gender, or ethnicity. We will not tolerate incidents such as this.”