New York man charged over spate of attacks on women

A man has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting random women in New York City in a string of incidents described by police as hate crimes.

Armstead Daquan, 31, is accused of striking women in the face, back and head during attacks in March and April.

The seven women all reported they were attacked by an unknown individual.

Recent videos depicting assaults on women in the city have been widely circulated on social media, but Daquan is not suspected to have been involved.

There have been 50 unprovoked assaults on women in Manhattan so far this year, according to police figures cited by NBC News.

Daquan faces charges of hate crime/assault, attempted hate crime/assault and aggravated harassment, a New York Police Department spokesperson said.

The attacks involve women ranging in age from their early 20s to 40s who all reported similar encounters with the man.

The first incident occurred on 24 March after a 30-year-old woman reported she was struck in the face by an unknown individual in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Police responded the following day to a 911 call involving a 36-year-old woman who reported she was struck in the back a few blocks from the first incident.

Five more women reported similar assaults by an unknown individual throughout April.

The first involved a 38-year-old woman struck on the back of the head near the West Village neighbourhood.

Police responded to two separate 911 calls three days later involving a 44-year-old woman and a 25-year-old woman, both struck on the right side of the face. The two incidents occurred within several blocks of each other.

A 24-year-old woman on 8 April reported she was also struck on the back of the head by an unknown individual in the Lower East Side. Police responded to a 911 call later in the month involving a 27-year-old woman who was struck on the head near Washington Square Park.