Family of victim in New York subway robbery say ‘she won’t make it’ and donate her organs
A mother who was critically injured during an attempted mugging on the New York City Subway has no prospect of recovery, her family announced on Wednesday morning.
Than Than Htwe, 58, has been in a coma since suffering head injuries from the attack on July 17.
Kyaw Zaw Hein, 22, said his mother “won’t make it out of this”, adding the family had decided to donate her organs to “those who are in need”.
“I want to say thank you again to all the people who supported us through this very hard time,” Mr Hein wrote, after $48,000 was donated to a Gofundme page.
Ms Htwe, a seamstress originally from Myanmar, moved to the US in 2018 to be closer to her family.
On July 17 she and Mr Hein were walking up steps at Canal Street station in Manhattan on her way to a doctor’s appointment when a mugger grabbed her son’s backpack from behind.
Mr Hein and his mother fell backwards down the stairs and were knocked unconscious.
Mr Hein said he woke to find “blood everywhere” and his mother lying on the ground.
In an update Wednesday, Mr Hein wrote on Gofundme that doctors told the family that the head trauma was so severe that she won’t be able to wake up.
“All of us are heartbroken and shocked by how the events have turned out.”
Her son appealed for information to help find the person responsible.
“If you know anything about the guy who did this to her. Please let the police know! He needs to pay justice for what has been done!! Thank you again.”
The NYPD released a video of the suspect and appealed for information from the public.
They are investigating whether this incident was a hate crime.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea also asked members of the public for help in finding the assailant.
Crimes against Asian-Americans have soared since the beginning of the pandemic.
Attacks on Asians in 16 of America’s largest cities soared by an unprecedented 164% during the first quarter of 2021, according to data from police.
Many attributed the increase in attacks on the use of language such as “Kung Flu” and “China Virus” by former President Donald Trump.
In May, Joe Biden signed the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act into law to try to stem the number of anti-Asian attacks.
The bipartisan bill tasked an official at the US Justice Department to expedite reviews of violence and hate crimes related to Covid-19.
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