Reported by Shirley N Lew

The New York Police Department confirmed to AsAmNews it is investigating an assault on Ben Chang, a former State Department diplomat, popular DJ and current spokesperson at Columbia University.

“The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force was notified. This is being investigated as a possible bias incident,” a police spokesperson told AsAmNews.

It happened Monday, June 17 when Chang told police he was approached by a man yelling “‘Go back to your f@*ng country” and struck him in the back of the head with a metal water bottle causing pain.”

Police say Chang refused medical treatment and there were no visible signs of injuries.

The suspect is described as a man with a dark complexion and long dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing a white tank top, black pants and black sandals. No arrest has been made.

The whole thing happened in front of 1047 Amsterdam Avenue not far from Columbia University at 10:15 a.m.

AsAmNews reached out to Chang, but a message on his answering machine indicated he would be out of the office through at least the end of the month.

The blog Washington Note describes Chang as a very popular Washington DJ known for spinning tunes at the home of Washington diplomats. The Note reported Chang ran away from his attacker and a New York City bus driver who witnessed the attack urged Chang to get on his bus to escape his assailant.

The suspect continued to harass Chang after he got off the bus two blocks later.

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