What to Know
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Kevin Raphael, 39, allegedly went on a profanity-laden anti-white spree on three days in July, targeting men on the street and city buses[hhmc]
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One attack involved a man walking on the street with his pregnant wife; the others involved a law student and a doctor on buses in Brooklyn[hhmc]
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Raphael was ordered held on bail after his arraignment on a 13-count indictment Wednesday; attorney information for him wasn't available[hhmc]
A 39-year-old Brooklyn man has been indicted in a series of attacks — three in three days — in which he allegedly screamed anti-white comments and physically assaulted two people on city buses, prosecutors said.
Kevin Raphael, of East New York, targeted three white men, including one walking with his pregnant wife in the borough, on the last three days of July, prosecutors said Wednesday. In the case of the man with the pregnant wife, Raphael allegedly walked up to the 30-year-old and said, "What are you looking at? What are you looking for? I kill white (expletive) like you," and motioned to his waistband as if he had a gun.
Raphael then shouted, "I will kill every white (expletive) around here," prosecutors say.
The following day, just before 10 a.m., Raphael was on a B25 bus near Fulton and Bond streets when prosecutors say he punched a 29-year-old law student sitting on the bus and said, "I hate all you white (expletive). Youre a (expletive)." He got off at the next stop; the law student suffered redness and bruising to his face and eye.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Then, on July 31, came another bus attack during the evening rush. Prosecutors say this time it was on the B41 at Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway; Raphael allegedly approached a 59-year-old doctor and repeatedly struck him in the head as the doctor sat in his seat while screaming anti-white comments. The doctor was treated for a concussion, as well as facial bruising and redness.
Raphael was ordered held on bail after his arraignment on a 13-count indictment charging him with assault and menacing as hate crimes, along with other offenses. It wasn't clear if he entered a plea at the hearing Wednesday, nor was attorney information for him immediately available.
“This defendant allegedly terrorized three people during a hate-filled crime spree simply because of the color of their skin," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement Wednesday. "In Brooklyn, everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or religion must be able to safely navigate the streets without fear of being senselessly and violently attacked.”
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