Woman erupts in racist rant before assaulting man with chair and umbrella at McDonald's

A woman who walked into a McDonald’s in Manhattan’s Chinatown on March 25 and unleashed an anti-Hispanic rant on a man she didn’t know before assaulting him with a chair and an umbrella is being sought by police for a possible hate crime.

The unidentified woman, who was captured on surveillance camera, entered the fast food restaurant at 10:30 a.m. and walked up to the victim, Miguel Ucho, an Ecuadorian-born construction worker who was having breakfast with a relative. Out of the blue, she started hurling racist insults at him, calling him a “f****** Mexican,” according to ABC 7. 

At first, Ucho tried to ignore the woman, but she proceeded to pick up a chair and throw it at him, hitting him in the face, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She then ran into the McDonald’s bathroom and re-emerged with an umbrella that she used to assault him. He tried speaking to her, but the woman just continued her attack. She later fled the scene and escaped into an underground subway station. 

Ucho sustained bruises, scrapes and swelling to his head and was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he was given a CAT scan. On Wednesday, he told the New York Daily News that in retrospect, he finds the attack “comical.” But he was also left baffled and traumatized.

“It doesn’t make sense because you don’t do anything bad to other people, you mind your own business, it doesn’t make sense why people are racist,” Ucho said. “I’m left with a little fear now, like a little trauma now, you walk down the street and wonder if it’ll happen again.

“In my opinion I would say she’s a racist, but I don’t know if she has some other mental problems or something,” he added.

Police are now searching for the suspect, who is described as white, approximately 35-45 years-old and measuring 5’2″ and 180 pounds. She was seen leaving McDonald’s in a tan jacket, black pants and black and white sneakers. If caught, the woman could potentially be charged with a hate crime. A hate crime conviction in New York can result in a prison sentence ranging from four to 20 years.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to the New York Police Department (NYPD) for an update on the investigation. In the meantime, the NYPD encourages anyone with leads about the crime to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS; the program awards up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest.