A Turkish citizen was stabbed by an unknown perpetrator because “he was a Turk” in the U.S. city of New York, according to reports.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) on Twitter shared the picture of the attacker and said that the attack occurred on April 15 in Manhattan.

The police said that the person voiced anti-Turkey statements and stabbed the 24-year-old in his chest, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).

The wounded were taken to a hospital, while Daily News cited the perpetrator as saying “I hate Turks.”

Local media similarly said that the attack occurred because of his Turkish identity.

The attacks come as Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran recently urged international action to eliminate discrimination against diasporas.

The Turkish community in the West has been concerned with the rising trend of Islamophobia and Turkophobia in Western countries and has called on states to adopt tougher measures against hate crimes.

Turkey has a large diaspora living in the West, particularly in Europe.

Racist attacks targeting Muslims or immigrants increasingly make the headlines in the West as white supremacists become more efficient in an age where their ideals, or at least parts of them, are going mainstream. There is no single large group orchestrating these attacks against Muslims and immigrants. Rather, individual attacks lead to more attacks by copycats.

The tolerant political climate under the pretext of freedom of speech has helped far-right sympathizers with violent tendencies expand their support.