A US man has been assaulted in what appears to be an unprovoked hate crime.

Twenty one year old Dazjuan Starr was attacked on Friday on a Bronx subway platform by an unknown assailant who was carrying a hammer. Starr was assaulted by the man and then pushed on to the railway tracks.

The suspect reportedly yelled an anti-gay slur before pulling out a hammer which he used to hit Starr in the armpit, before pushing him onto the tracks. The assailant fled and has not been apprehended.

Starr suffered wounds to the face and head and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed as being in stable condition.

The incident is being investigated as a hate crime due to the language used by the assailant. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York,  has directed the State’s Police Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in the investigation.

“I am absolutely sickened by the vicious anti-LGBTQ assault on a Bronx subway platform early this morning,” Cuomo said. “This horrific and ugly crime is repugnant to our values as New Yorkers, and we have zero tolerance for such vile acts of hate.”

Local news reports give more detail on the attack.

OIP Staff, stock image.